Nick Faldo weighs in on Tiger's woes

Guess who's been harping on about Tiger's 'situation'? Yep, Lord Faldo Of Nickington who claims that "everything is stacking up against Tiger making a successful return to the game."

Well, on the one hand you have to think Faldo knows what he's talking about as he won five majors and was quite good in the Ryder Cup. But on the other hand why doesn't he just shut the blazes up and keep his fingers crossed that Tiger does come back... maybe not better than ever but back at least.

"If you don't stop harping on about how I look as weak as a kitten I'll give you a right good slap, Faldo"

"It's going to be a hard grind to come back and compete against the best in the world," said Briton Faldo, 59.Faldo was "not surprised" when the world number 786 withdrew from the PGA Tour opener on Monday.

"Golf is a wicked game, it dangles a carrot. Ten years ago, I'd hit balls and think, 'I can still play, I can still hit it'. Then you'd go to the course and you can't make a score. Everything is stacking up against him now. Physically, mentally and obviously competing."

Tiger hasn't triumphed on the PGA Tour since 2013 and even as a Ryder Cup vice-Captain at Hazeltine, Faldo thought Woods was struggling.

"Watching him walk, he just doesn't look supple to me," Faldo told BBC Sport. "He looked like he was struggling just getting in and out of the golf buggy".

"We'll, he did warn me..."

"I know the stamina needed to play 72 holes. He may be able to hit balls on a range, but there's a rhythm to that. On a course, you get a five-minute gap between two shots. I think maybe he is starting to hit the ball better, but it's the stamina to play."

Tiger has confirmed he will also miss the Turkish Airlines Open in November but said he may be ready for his foundation's event, the Hero World Challenge, in December. Let's ruddy hope so for golf's sake.

The 14-time major winner had back surgery in September and October 2015.

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Faldo lays into Tiger... again