Hayes: Masters stars put Tiger Woods out to pasture

AUGUSTA, Ga. - They eulogized Tiger Woods on Tuesday.

With fond remembrances and wistful words, they gently laid his legend to rest. It was fitting that the ceremony for the passing of his golfing life would be held here, because here is where began for Tiger. In 1997, he set the Masters record at 18-under, and that forever changed the game.

In an effort to Tiger-proof the sport, courses got longer, fairways narrower, and greens faster. When that backfired, everyone got fitter.

Still, the only thing that could catch Tiger was time. Accumulated wear and tear - knee, neck, leg, Achilles' and a deteriorating back - has laid him low since August.

It is finished.

Except, it isn't.

Woods felt compelled to announce last week that he would not compete in this year's Masters. What that means, is, until last week, Woods thought there was a chance that he would play in this year's Masters. And what that means is, Woods expects to return to competitive golf when his body is well enough to allow it.

No one seems threatened; not even the stars who once worshipped and mimicked him.

On Tuesday at the Masters, they paid tribute to Tiger's accomplishments, but generally ignored the possibility that he still might accomplish more.

"He did things that no one else could do," said Jason Day, who, as a troubled kid, read Tiger's book and was inspired to chase greatness. "It was just amazing what he could do as an athlete in our sport. Changed the game of golf for the better."

Day then listed Tiger's young disciples: defending champion Jordan Spieth; Nike's new princeling, Rory McIlroy; matinee idol Rickie Fowler; Japanese champion Hideki Matsuyama; third-year standout Justin Thomas.

"There's numbers and numbers of guys . . . because of what Tiger did back in the day, that got us into the game of golf today," Day said. "And I was explaining that to Arnold Palmer. The way that he started the next generation, and that generation started the next generation, and then finally Tiger Woods started our generation."

Arnold Palmer? Arnold Palmer is 86. He is unable to hit the ceremonial first tee ball this year.

Tiger Woods is 40, and he might have lots of golf life left. Players have won a major after the age of 40 in 36 instances. Woods might inspire a few more Jason Days, mightn't he?

Certainly, when Woods held the No. 1 ranking for 599 of 646 weeks from 1998-2010 he had more influence.

Adam Scott, 35, copied Tiger's swing, built his body to look like Tiger's and even snagged his caddie, Steve Williams, after Tiger fired him. By 2014, Scott had reached No. 1 himself. Scott stayed there only 11 weeks.

"I can understand why Tiger played a light schedule," Scott said Tuesday, barely recovered from winning two nonmajors a month ago. "He put so much getting into ready to play; he then played, and he played in contention every time he did. I understand he needed to recover and then reset. What's hard to imagine is the confidence he must have had going to the golf course to play over that period of time."

What's hard to fathom is how little chance anyone seems to give Woods of regaining relevance.

"His highlight reel - I watch it on YouTube at times - is endless, of all the great stuff that he has done," Scott said. "I was really fortunate to get some front-row seats throughout those years, watching it close up. I think he made us believe it was going to go forever and ever."

Maybe not forever, and maybe Tiger will never win again, but these guys made it sound so . . . permanent.

"It is much different than the years Tiger dominated," McIlroy said. "I don't know if we're going to see a 10-year stretch of golf like that in our lifetime. What he did in that time span was amazing."

So, that's it? Excellence in majors will now be limited to Day, when healthy; McIlroy, when interested; Bubba Watson, during his occasional spells of lucidity; and Spieth, when he's dropping long putts?

That was the narrative Tuesday. Tiger, past tense.

It was, at least, until Spieth was asked whether it would be strange to see Woods at the Champions' Dinner on Tuesday night. You know, as if Woods was going to show up in a wheelchair and blanket like FDR.

"I don't think so," said Spieth, who served Texas barbecue. "We haven't seen him competing in a little while, and we certainly all hope that he's back soon. But because of that, I don't think it will be odd."

Phil Mickelson echoed Spieth's sentiments: "The game misses him."

How about that; a little respect, a little optimism. Then again, maybe Spieth wants a Tiger comeback because he never faced Tiger in full throat.

Spieth is younger than the others. Woods has not been healthy enough to be a consistent threat since 2013, Spieth's first full year on the PGA Tour, and even then, Woods hadn't won a major in five years. Woods has since undergone three back surgeries between April 2014 and October 2015. So, Spieth is one of the few players who never felt the withering nature of the "Tiger Effect."

Scott, by comparison, recalled how Tiger at the height of his powers was "one person playing against the whole Tour . . .

"I lived through the Tiger dominance," he said. "We all just felt at times we were playing for second. Tiger controlled the outcome so much in some way."

McIlroy recalled how Tiger was once a 3-to-1 favorite at majors, and Day is glad those days are gone:

"I didn't like getting beat by Tiger all the time. I mean, it sucked."

Tuesday was a brilliant, sunny day, the wind steady at 10 mph, the greens soft and receptive - just the type of day Tiger, in his time, might have brought Augusta National to its knees and lapped the field.

A lovely day for golf.

A lovely day for a funeral.

@inkstainedretch