Improved Tiger seeks consistency

Nope, this was about a hot dog, and we're not taking about Steve Williams.
The commotion and the unidentified spectator rushing out of the gallery toward the green were more scary than what flew out of his hand, and Woods barely flinched. He made light of it afterward, suggesting that it was simply someone who wanted a piece of the limelight and expected to be arrested.


"I could hear the security behind me,'' he said. "I was still bent over my Ping K15 Irons
, and I when I looked up was already in the air. The bun was kind of disintegrating there.''


The person never got closer than 40 feet to Woods, and was quickly handcuffed and escorted off the property. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, according to a Santa Clara County police sergeant.


Understandably, the jokes are flying -- and at a higher and longer trajectory than the hot dog itself.


The overall situation, however, does remind us how vulnerable golfers can be, despite there being no threat to Woods in this instance. Security acted immediately, the spectator was in handcuffs within minutes, and about 30 seconds later, Woods was attempting his Ping K15 Irons
.


"I really wanted to bury that putt,'' Woods said.


He didn't, and he must be wondering what is going to happen next.





This has clearly been the most disappointing on-course year of Woods' career. He missed two major championships, failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs and slipped out of the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in 15 years. ( Ping K15 Irons
)


The year that began with promise after a solid end to a tumultuous 2010 never got on track. He tied for fourth at the Masters, but was injured badly enough to miss most of the next four months. Any momentum gained was gone.



Along the way, he broke up with his long-time caddie, Williams -- who then trashed him for the way he said it was handled after winning a tournament on bag.


Woods tied for 37th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, shot 10 over and missed the cut at the PGA Championship, and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs -- which he had won twice in its first four years. Despite all that, picked him for his U.S. Presidents Cup team.


That is among the reasons he was here at the Frys.com Open in Northern California. It was a bit surreal to think that as Woods was finishing his round Sunday on the ninth hole -- because of a two-tee start that meant Woods began on No. 10 -- tournament leader at the time, was in the middle of his round right in front of him, trying for his first victory in 348 career PGA Tour starts.


Woods shot his third-straight 68 on Sunday, and while there were plenty of positives, the bottom-line number is he tied for 30th and was 10 strokes back of playoff contestants Baird -- both trying for their first Ping K15 Irons
while Woods remains stuck on 71 PGA Tour triumphs. Molder eventually triumphed on the sixth playoff hole.