Editor's note: This piece was originally published Dec. 28.
Birthdays have not served as great benchmarks of late for Tiger Woods, especially as he passed into that "twilight'' area of his career where the days grow shorter and the opportunities more fleeting.
Athletes in their 40s already face long odds of success, and Woods' plight has been made all the more onerous due to four back surgeries, the most recent of which occurred when he was 41 and already facing an uncertain future.
But after Woods celebrated his 43rd birthday on Dec.