Tiger Woods, golf’s greatest superstar, recently went from the highest point in his year to the lowest in a week. After winning his first title in five years at the 2018 Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, Woods went on to compete at the 2018 Ryder Cup in France. However, his results were a huge disappointment, both to him and the U.S. team. As a result of his and the team’s poor performance, the U.S. lost to Europe and gave up the title they had held for two years.

The Tour Championship is a tournament that is one of the final events of the PGA Tour, which is the organizer of the main professional golf tournaments played mainly by men in the U.S. and North America. The Ryder Cup is a tournament between teams from Europe and the U.S. that takes place every other year. It was originally contested between teams from the U.S. and Great Britain, but continuous American domination led to an extension of the representation. Today, the European team has included players from countries all over the continent, such as Spain and Italy.

After winning his first title in five years at the 2018 Tour Championships, Woods had an emotional celebration and said, “I can’t believe I pulled this off,” during the trophy presentation. With four back surgeries, Woods’ comeback to the highest level of golf was a great achievement. However, at the Ryder Cup a week later, the U.S. lost horribly with a score of 10.5-17.5, the third widest margin by a European team. Woods himself did not perform well, going 0-4 and earning no points for the U.S. team. He has blamed himself as part of the reason why the U.S. lost and expressed, “It’s disappointing because I went 0-4, and that’s four points to the European team.”

Woods, however, revealed that his poor performance was due to the fatigue that had built up during the entire season. He had played a total of seven tournaments in only nine weeks, so this definitely took a toll on his body. He also cited a lack of training as another reason for his performance. Woods said, “It was the cumulative effect of the entire season. I was so tired because I hadn’t trained for it.”

Despite the disappointment following the Ryder’s Cup, Woods still has had an amazing comeback at the Tour Championship. Hopefully at the next Ryder Cup in two years, Woods, along with other American golfers, can take the title back again.

Photo courtesy THEWEEK.CO.UK