Woods and Coach Go Seperate Ways

"In coaching and teaching Tiger, I have also learned a lot, not only about golf, but about people and life in general" Hank Haney.

Tiger Woods' golf coach, Hank Haney, announced that he was severing ties with the world number 1 following a failed tilt at the Tournament Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on the weekend. While it is hard to decipher the exact reasons for Haney's departure, Woods' recent personal troubles have undoubtedly had an effect on Haney.

It is another setback for Woods who has come under heavy scrutiny for his mediocre performances since a fourth place finish at the 2010 U.S Masters. He is struggling with a neck injury, swing troubles, the seperation from his wife, and now the search for a new coach. A return to form soon becomes increasingly unlikely with every additional setback. Woods and his sponsors must be aware of this.

Many golfing greats still believe Woods will overcome these setbacks to break Jack Nichlaus's all-time majors record. But now it is more a case of if rather than when for Woods. All of this must put Woods in a low place right now. Golf should be his sanctuary - the crowds love him and the game's administrators treat him with the utmost respect. Instead of helping him put his life back together as hoped, his comeback has hardly gone to plan.

So where to now for the 14-time major winner? Another indefinite break from the game beckons and it is likely that he may miss the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a venue where he has won numerous times. It is not panic stations yet for Woods, but if he endures another lengthy break from the game he may never reach the heights we have come to expect from him.

One thing is for certain, Woods will lose his number 1 ranking sooner rather than later. Phil Mickelson's rise in the same period as Woods' demise has been somewhat of a triumph for karma. His ailing wife and mother are both suffering from breast cancer, and Mickelson has deserved his recent success.

Whatever the case may be with Woods' injury, golf faces as very interesting finish to the season in which as much as any other year, anything could happened.