Tiger Woods seems a little bit clumsy these days. His performance in Bridgestone Invitational, just a couple of days before the PGA championship and with the Ryder Cup following the next month, has generated a lot of doubt around Woods%uFFFD skills. On the third round of the Invitational he had 5 bogeys, one double bogey and 2 birdies; he needed 75 hits to finish the course in an event he had already won 7 times previously. This performance is his worst since 1996, when he began his professional career. He finished 18 hits behind the leader, in the 78th position out of 80 competitors.
After this result Woods needs a big win in an upcoming event if he plans to change is luck for next year. He usually reaches august with at lest one win in the PGA tour, but right now he can't seem to raise his performance and reach his previous level amid the personal struggles and domestic trouble he is facing, but that is not really an excuse for a champion player.
He started a little bit late in the season, and has since spent time with his family while facing his troubles at home. This has caused his practice time to decrease a lot. This is going to have long term repercussions over his performance if he lets these things overtake his mind and make him lose his temper over the course of the upcoming events. He can't become emotional or he will fall behind the other players.
Even now, after all the struggles, Woods still appears as a favorite in the pending events of the year. He had 2 major wins in the first 2 events of the year, a 4th place in the Masters and a 4th place in the U.S. Open, but these are the only times he has reach the top 10 this year.
Woods has said: "If you look at my career, I've never been one of those guys that just plays awful and then all of a sudden just plays well", and for now Woods still keeps his Number 1 spot in the PGA ranking for his 270th straight week.