Tiger Woods washed up? Has his prime come and gone without major headlines to announce it? Has that gold-plated wish list stack of 19 major championships, which would eclipse Jack Nicklaus’s all-time record, been reduced to nothing more than a pipe dream?

When Woods won his 14th major title at the 2008 U.S. Open — he was 32, playing with a double stress fracture in his left leg when he beat Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff at Torrey Pines that went one extra hole — his star was by far the brightest one in golf’s galaxy. No one was even close.

But much has happened — mostly negative — since then and, well, Woods and his aura have dramatically dulled. He underwent major knee surgery after that win at Torrey Pines and missed the last half of 2008, returning in 2009, when he once again dominated (with an asterisk). He won six tournaments, topped the money list by a wide margin, but he didn’t win a single major, the first time that happened since 2004.

Then, Thanksgiving weekend 2009 arrived. Woods’s world began to collapse following an early-morning car accident: Daily revelations of serial marital infidelity; divorce action from his wife Elin; sponsors fleeing; and Tiger’s name not only dragged through the tabloid mud, but turned into a world-wide punch line.

Disgraced, shaken and clearly distracted by the turmoil in his life, Woods has since appeared to be nothing more than an above-average tour player. He no longer has that intimidation factor working in his favour. Sub-par (for Woods, anyway) performances at the U.S. Open and British Open, on courses where he has dominated in the past got tongues wagging that he might be — gasp! — washed up.

Woods will be 35 in December. Analysts suggest he has four or five years of his prime remaining before hitting 40 and the standard age-related slide in skills. If he’s going to match or exceed Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles, he likely needs to average one a year until 2015 to break the record.

Perhaps when the divorce from Elin goes through, and Woods’s life returns to some semblance of normality, his game will return to dominance. But don’t count on it. It’s probably only 50-50 right now that when Woods’s world came crashing down against a fire hydrant in Florida last November, his dominance, his No. 1 ranking and his race to beat Nicklaus were left scattered around that gated-community street.

• Toronto comedian Frenchie McFarlane: “Honda Toronto Indy organizers were very happy that two women finished in the top 10. They would have done better, but they both lost time when they actually stopped and asked three locals for correct directions.”

• Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Following Miami’s Big 3 coup, Timberwolves guard Jonny Flynn said, ‘When you have three superstars you can you can throw a janitor in there. You can throw in a chef.’ ‘I agree,’ said new Heat starting point guard Emeril Lagasse.”

• Greg Couch, FanHouse, on Lou Piniella’s announcement that he would quit as Chicago Cubs manager at the end of this season: “Piniella arrived known for his fire and passion. He hobbles off looking like a battered old man, Cubbed to death.”

• Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times: “British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen says he’s using part of his $1.3 million prize to buy himself a tractor. No mistaking Oosthuizen for Tiger Woods: He’ll be the one getting a John Deere letter.”
• Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg, on soccer withdrawal: “I miss the World Cup so much, I decided to hang out at the pier and watch the fisherman haul in their fish just so I could see something flop.”

• Comedian Argus Hamilton, on the death of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner: “He wasn’t up there for five minutes before he demanded to know what God was doing sitting in the owner’s box.”

• Blogger R.J. Currie, on TMZ reports that police in Dublin, Ohio, were called to a golf course to investigate a complaint that Ben Roethlisberger was peeing in public: “When reached for comment, a police spokesperson said they didn’t find a drop of evidence, while Roethlisberger would only say he was relieved.’’

Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca