Getty Images, Jamie Squire
With one month to go until the Masters, it looks like Woods has no chance of breaking his major drought in Augusta this year.
Here's how the year has gone so far for Woods: He shot a 79 at Torrey Pines in January, which was a tie for his second worst round ever. He's won 8 times at Torrey Pines, so shooting a 79 was disconcerting. It also led to him being cut from the event on Saturday.
Then he went to Dubai, and finished tied for 41st. He was struggling with his driver in Dubai, and didn't do much.
After Dubai he played at the Honda Classic. He withdrew on Sunday after suffering back spasms. He was +5 through 13 holes when he withdrew. It was a disappointing WD because he shot a -5, 65 the day before and looked like he might be rounding into shape.
He got treatment for his back and entered the WGC event at Trump's Doral.
Woods is in bad shape after the first round. He shot a +4, 76. That puts him 8 back of the lead, and tied for 56th place. There are only 68 players in the event.
His back nine was an adventure. He went bogey-bogey-par-bogey-double bogey, then had three birdies in a row, before dunking his tee shot in the water on 18, and scoring a bogey.
The good news is that there's no cut at this event, so he'll play this weekend. That should help him sort through his issues. On the other hand, the bad news is that there is no cut so he won't be able to rest his back, which might be more important for his season.
A year ago, things were looking good for Woods. He won at Torry Pines, then won at Doral, then won the Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Invitational. He was the favorite to win at the Masters, and if not for hitting a flag stick, he probably would have won.
This year, his back is in bad shape. He's not hitting the ball well. And he's not putting well.
He has a month to figure all of this out. Hopefully Woods gets it all settled because golf is just a lot more exciting when he's playing well.