Exclusive: He is not Superman, says Martin Dempster after Tiger Woods withdraws from Hero Challenge

Tiger Woods on Monday announced that he will be withdrawing from this weekend’s Hero World Challenge. Woods said he developed an injury to his right heel which forced him to sit out the charity tournament, here in the Bahamas. 

After the announcement, the fans and the organisers were left rather disappointed as Woods hadn’t been seen in action after appearing at St Andrews for The Open Championship in July.

The 15-time Major champion hosts the Hero World Challenge and it was supposed to be one of the three events he had been pencilled to take part in, till the end of the year. Skipping the event in the Bahamas is expected to affect Woods’ official World Golf Ranking. 

WION’s Sports Editor Digvijay Singh Deo caught up with Martin Dempster, chairman of the Association of Golf Writers and analysed the impact of Woods’ withdrawal and if his ‘aura’ was fading. 

“Two hours ago we were still confident that Tiger Woods was going to play this weekend. Then to see him put out a statement that he has got a problem…he will still be here as the host but we all are feeling a bit disappointed,” said Dempster. 

When asked if the buzz that the 46-year-old commanded on the golf turf was fading with injuries not healing and him being forced out of tournaments, Dempster said age was catching up with Woods. 

“Very much so. No doubt age is a factor. All the injuries he has had, they are catching up now. But what we have seen from him this year — I’m not surprised. He played at Masters and he did really well to play four rounds at Augusta. It was cold. Then the US PGA Championship. He struggled there. Sat out the US Open but was determined to be at St. Andrews for the 150th Open,” said Dempster. 

“This is a reminder to everyone that Tiger Woods is fragile these days. He is not Superman. He has never been. People have thought he is Superman. But as you get older, these things catch up.” 

Quizzed if Tiger Woods still believed that he can come around and win major trophies by being on the tour for weeks, Dempster sounded optimistic, “If Tiger is fit on a given week, he still has the game. He hasn’t been able to do that on a regular basis but Phil Mickelson won a major at 50. Tiger Woods would love to take that record away from him.”

“Tiger has proved strong in the past when he came back and won the masters. We should never write off. But as he gets older with the injuries, especially that car crash — we have to be careful what we expect from him in the next year or coming five years,” added Dempster. 

With injuries taking a toll on Woods’ body, questions have been arising if the golfing talisman might be transitioning to a leadership role on the PGA tour. Dempster said that PGA may be looking to lean on him. 

“All through his career, he has been a big influence. All the players look up to him. Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, all these players have so much respect for him. They know that the platform they play on today has been created by Tiger. He has had a lot more time on his hands lately. There has been a lot of good things going around in golf. He has been to meeting and PGA may be looking to lean onto Tiger to get his advice and support over the next few weeks.”

Asked if Woods will be doing exhibitions as his playing career draws to a close, Dempster said, “Tiger Woods does not do exhibitions. Never has. Never will. He is not going to come up and make the numbers. Ever.”

If Woods’ injuries subside, he is expected to take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in a rather hotly-anticipated edition of ‘The Match’ scheduled to take place in Florida on December 10. Afterwards, he is expected to join his talented son Charlie in the PNC Championship where the duo finished second last year.