PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- For long-time Tiger Woods observers, the troubling signs were apparent almost immediately, from the time he set foot on the grounds at Royal Portrush within a short time of arriving in the country from Florida.
There was a slow, steady cadence to his speech, a halting walk, and word from Tiger himself that he had not even opened up his travel golf bag while on a two-week vacation in Thailand following the U.S. Open.
There was Woods' own admission Tuesday that his game was not where he wanted it to be, some struggles on the driving range on Wednesday, and then the cool, rainy temperatures that are kryptonite to a man with a bad back.