Brandel Chamblee is not bullish about Tiger Woods’s competitive prospects.
When asked in a recent interview with GOLF.com’s Ryan Asselta if Woods can challenge today’s superstars, the Golf Channel analyst did not mince his words.
“No is the short answer,” Chamblee said. “If you do an internet search of the greatest sports comebacks from injury, you’ll get a litany of injuries. The one thing you will not get is a bad back followed by great athletic achievement.”
Woods is scheduled to make his return to competitive golf in two weeks at his own tournament, the Hero World Challenge, in the Bahamas.
But according to Chamblee, injuries, in combination with other complications in Woods’s life and game, make him unlikely to be a serious threat.
“A bad back by a 41-year-old, four back surgeries in the last three or four years, followed by the emotional stress of the scandal and the controversies that have followed him around and likely some addictions, followed by the chipping yips, which various people have texted me, all caps, exclamation points, that he is over. I’ve seen no evidence that he’s over it.”
“You cannot play the Tour if you can’t chip,” Chamblee concluded.
You can watch a clip from the interview in the video above.