Nick Faldo: Tiger Woods was ready to give up golf in 2017
Tiger Woods is in the midst of attempting one of the great comeback stories in American sports.
While his quest for a 15th major is on pause until next year’s Masters, there’s still a chance for him to elicit some more 2018 roars if Jim Furyk makes him a captain’s pick for the upcoming Ryder Cup.
Either way, Woods’ second-place finish at the PGA Championship on the heels of a sixth-place finish at The Open Championship has locked his revival tour into full throttle.
Nick Faldo: Tiger Woods said ‘I’m done’ at 2017 Masters
According to Nick Faldo, it almost didn’t happen. Speaking with Dan Patrick on Monday (h/t @golfweek), the six-time major champion said that Woods was ready to give up golf in 2017.
Faldo said that he heard Woods tell another Masters winner at the 2017 Masters champions dinner that he was done with the game.
“What he’s been able to do, Dan, is unbelievable, remarkable,” Faldo said. “To go from a frozen back, I know he whispered to another Masters champion two Masters dinners ago, ‘I’m done. I won’t play golf again.’ And here we are 18 months later.”
Faldo would not divulge with whom Woods was speaking at Augusta.
Faldo: Pain, not golf struggles prompted Woods’ frustration
According to Faldo, it wasn’t frustrations on the golf course that led Woods to contemplate giving up the game that defines him, but pain from years of surgery on his back and left knee that made golf unbearable.
“He was in agony,” Faldo said. “He was in pain. The pain down his legs. There was nothing enjoyable. He couldn’t move. If you watched footage of him, he couldn’t even get out of the golf cart at the Ryder Cup when he was vice captain.”
Spring of 2017 wasn’t long ago. To echo Faldo, what Woods has accomplished since then is nothing short of remarkable. Finding an analyst or golfer who hadn’t written off Woods as a competitive golfer was a tough task just this time last year.
Now Woods is back competing at majors, and casual golf fans are tuning back in.
The Masters can’t get here soon enough.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Little Leaguer can’t travel to LLWS due to immigration issue
• Indians’ Martin in stable condition with deadly infection
• How a dinger-hitting 12-year-old became a viral star
• NFL star’s simple advice on Trump? Ignore him.
