Greg Norman’s blunt message for Tiger Woods

Greg Norman

GOLF’S dominant figure for more than a decade, Woods has endured a painful decline in recent years.

Persistent back problems have led to a succession of surgeries for the former world No. 1, who has made only three tournament appearances since August 2015 and withdrew from the most recent of those – February’s Dubai Desert Classic – after one round.

Woods then was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was found asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes on May 29 in Florida.

After attributing his condition to an “unexpected reaction” to the mix of medications he was on, the 41-year-old went on to confirm he was receiving professional help.

Norman recently spoke out about Tiger’s plight, and said he needs to ‘sort his life out’ before he can even entertain thoughts of returning to golf.

“I feel sorry for him, for what he’s going through, for what he’s put himself through,” Norman told the BBC.

“I would like to see him get his life sorted out. Forget the golf.

“He’s never going to replicate what he’s done in the past. You’ve got to be able to get your life sorted out.

“Get cleaned up. You’ve got kids and other friends to spend the rest of your life with.”

Norman also said Woods has no one to blame but himself.

“His priority is to sort his life out first,” he said.

“I’m surrounded by mountains up at 14,000ft and he has a huge mountain to climb ahead of him.

“It’s all been self imposed unfortunately but at the end of the day he’s got to make the decision which priority he wants to put out there first.

“Is it going to be his life or his golf? I don’t think he can get golf right until he gets life right.” – au.sports.yahoo.com