sportsfanIQ

Okay, this humble writer will admit it—Tiger Woods is not invincible.

He has officially been taken off his pedestal and, at least for now, stripped of his title, "God of Golf." Because in all fairness, treating him this way—the way the entire PGA world treats him—puts more pressure on everything he does.

After Woods held a four stroke lead going into the third round of the PGA Championship, one stroke off the record five, he was all but proclaimed the winner.

And could anyone argue?

History told us with any lead, let alone four strokes, Tiger dominates. He was 8 for 8 having led or been tied in a major after two rounds and 14 for 14 after three. Judging by these numbers, we came to expect nothing less than victory on Sunday. But this time, that wasn't the case.

Y.E. Yang beat Tiger at his own game—sort of. Although Woods has never come back to win a major the way Yang did, Y.E. held his composure down the stretch and hit a clutch 206-yard shot to within eight feet on 18, practically hitting the pin in the process.

After Woods left his approach shots on 17 and 18 in the heavy rough, slightly off the green, he was unable to get up and down, and bogeyed both en route to a subpar 75 round.

But that wasn't the fascinating part.

Having studied Woods since he burst on the majors' scene in 1997, his crumbling demeanor was awe-inspiring. This Sunday, on 18, for the first time, his head was down, his shoulders slouched, and his mind adrift.

Someone close to me suggested he's not as mentally tough as he once was. And maybe not. Even the great Jack Nicklaus, when asked about Tiger's chances of catching his record 18 majors, remarked how unpredictable it can be once he has a family to worry about.

So is Tiger weakening in his mind or is his game fading?

If you ask me, it's neither. The reason we all become so shocked when Tiger fails is because we've come to expect so much thus far. Maybe for once, the pressure is finally off him and he'll excel to even greater heights.

Maybe next time, when faced with similar conditions, instead of 14 for 14, he'll be 14 for 15, he'll be able to go out there and do what he does best—win.

Tiger has always placed enormous emphasis on winning majors, so when he doesn't, it's his own fault any failure is deemed so large. But honestly, he's won five tournaments since coming back from knee surgery—more than anyone else in that time. And finishing second in a major is still pretty good.

Will Tiger catch Jack? This writer is still betting yes.

But please stop expecting a Tiger Slam or some other Godly feat each time he walks to the first tee box. Because after this past Sunday, at age 33, the once fully-armored Tiger Woods appeared human.