Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the third tee during first round play in the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday.JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - Tiger Woods stepped from behind a microphone, thankful to be done with a short interview that felt like an intrusion. He took 23 questions, most of them about his golf, a few others about his left leg, then walked off without looking at anyone.
"That's why you guys listen," he muttered under his breath, "and I play."
Such bravado used to be accepted from Woods because he always backed it up. On the golf course, he set an unparalleled standard of excellence. Starting Thursday, he'll compete in the PGA Championship without having won anything in nearly two years.
His agent said he once rejected 100 emails a day from companies wanting to get involved with the world's most famous athlete. In the 16 months since Woods returned from a sex scandal, he still doesn't have a corporate logo on his golf bag. His only new endorsement is a Japanese heat rub.
One thing that still looks the same is that red shirt on Sunday, yet even that has lost some of its meaning.
"That's his trademark," Graeme McDowell said. "Really, I think that's all it is right now. What it means to him is obviously a different thing. What it means to the rest of us ... it's not really something to be intimidated by anymore."
McDowell, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach last summer, still considers Woods a special player. But after more than a year of finishing in the middle of the pack, or finishing the final round before the leaders even tee off, or not even playing because of recurring injuries to his left leg, Woods is more like just another player in the field.
No. 1 in the world a year ago, he's now No. 30.
"Mystique is not something that's measurable," McDowell said. "It's when you stand on the tee box with him and you get the feeling you're in the presence of greatness. When someone shows themselves as flawed and human ... what Tiger was doing all for years and years was superhuman. He was imposing himself on players just by being there.
"Until he starts winning again, he's not going to get that back."