It has been over a year since Tiger Woods's marital infidelities became public to the world and although that doesn't make headline news anymore, his poor form on the course does. Having not won a tournament since the JBWere Australian Masters in 2009, his world ranking has recently fallen to number 5, the worst it has been since he competed in the 1997 Masters, and this trend looks set to continue.
Before his scandal broke in late 2009 he was untouchable, becoming the first billion dollar athlete and maintaining the number 1 world ranking. But the constant media heckling and rehab took its toll, and he has never been able to find the same form since. Tiger Woods is considered by some to be the greatest golfer of all time or at least tipped to be. However if he was to never find his form again, he would sit with only 14 majors compared to Jack Nicklaus's 18 and he would only be remembered for what he did off the course, rather than on it. However true champions fight back from adversity and if he is to do that, he will have to separate his sporting life from his personal.
Another example of a sports star dealing with personal issues is Tony Parker, the point guard of the leading NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs. Having recently been divorced after being caught out having an affair on his then wife Eva Longoria. Parker hasn't let his personal issues affect his on court performance, having led his team to an NBA leading record of 54-13 so far this season. Proving that you can use your off the court issues to fuel your success on the court or in Tiger Woods case on the course.
However getting back to his former best may be harder than ever for Tiger, with the emergence of young stars such as Rory McIlroy and current world number 1, Martin Kaymer. However Tiger only being 35, still has the chance to return to the form that saw him win 71 PGA Tour tournaments since his debut in 1996. He might also be coming into some form as he carded a last round 66 at the World Golf-Cadillac Championships a few days ago, where he finished in a tie for 10th.
