Nicklaus identifies with Tiger's golf struggles

DUBLIN, Ohio – The 39-year-old legend could not win a golf tournament for trying, giving rise to amateur diagnoses that the infirmities in his game were incurable. On Sunday, Jack Nicklaus remembered that 1979 season, the first winless year of his Hall of Fame career.

"My short game was so bad, I was putting around bunkers," Nicklaus said, adding, "Sometimes you have to step back and make an assessment of what's going on and start over."

As Nicklaus spoke, Tiger Woods was on the course that Nicklaus built here at Muirfield Village, applying the finishing strokes to the worst 72-hole score of his professional career. A day after carding a 13-over-par 85 in the third round of the Memorial Tournament, Woods posted a 74 for a 14-over 302. His previous high score was a 298 at a 2010 World Golf Championships event, a couple of hours up the interstate in Akron.

Through 54 holes, Woods was in last place, affording him the experience of playing Sunday as a single — a first for him in his career, he said. Like parents of a child whose confidence is flagging, the roughly 1,000 fans who rose early to accompany Woods on his front nine cheered lustily every time his drive found the fairway or his approach found the green.

"The crowds were awesome," said Woods, who completed 18 holes in 2 hours, 51 minutes. "To come out this early and to have that many people support you like that, it was very special."

Woods, 39, showed his appreciation by doffing his cap often and mouthing "Thank you" as he made his way from one hole to the next.

Asked what he was playing for Sunday, Woods said: "Just trying to shoot under par. Just go out there and shoot the best score I possibly can. Just because I'm in last place doesn't change how I play golf."

In that span, Rory McIlroy, 26, has won two majors, two World Golf Championships events, two European Tour titles and the Wells Fargo Championship. Patrick Reed, 24, has four victories, including a World Golf Championships event. And Rickie Fowler, also 26, has won the Players Championship.

"People say, 'What's wrong with Tiger?' but what people I don't think realize is the new generation of golfers is unbelievable," said Kerry Sweeney, a player from Eastern Florida State College who was one of five male collegians honored Sunday with the Nicklaus Award.

Sweeney, the National Junior College Athletic Association recipient, added: "I'm not taking anything away from Tiger, he's an awesome player, has an awesome résumé. But the people nowadays don't realize how great the golfers actually are in the real world."

The game does not get easier with age. Priorities change, and often people's focus shifts, from fame and fortune to family. Woods is a divorced father with joint custody of his two young children. There is a reason he was at the Muirfield Village range until darkness fell one day last week, working on his swing until a blood blister formed on the inside of his left index finger. At home, much of his free time is spent entertaining his daughter and son.

In 1985, Nicklaus told The Columbus Citizen-Journal, "Let's face it, it's tough for someone in his 40s to give up the things that are necessary in order to win."