Par for the course: Woods comes up short and he's done

So much for the reign of Tiger Woods.

The King is dead. Long live the King.

Not only did the Great One fail to make up a 6-shot deficit Sunday in the Masters, with Augusta playing as difficult as Wrigley Field in April, but it's safe to say he may never win another tournament in this lifetime or any other.

What he ought to do is give up the chase, throw his sticks in the Atlantic, and take up a game that really matters, like Guitar Hero.

The Tiger Woods era is over.

An exaggeration? Not by what you'll discern from around the world this week as those dissecting Woods determine his future, a grim one indeed.

Many who predicted a Grand Slam for Woods are now trashing him for being unable to drain enough putts to scare the club covers off Trevor Immelman, allowing the South African to cruise home on No. 18 Sunday.

Some think Tiger is absolutely finished as the dominating force on the PGA Tour.

Of course, the same noble-minded thinkers managed precisely the same forecast last year after Woods went 0-for-3 in the majors, including a 12th in the British Open.

Tiger merely won nine of his next 10 starts (with one second), including the PGA Championship, while making an absolute mockery of the FedEx Cup.

In 2006, Woods' future also was questioned when he went 0-for-2 in the majors and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. A month later he won the British Open and a few weeks after that the PGA, amid a streak of 8 consecutive victories.

So now they're again insisting that at the ripe old age of 32, only months after he played the best golf any human has ever imagined, Woods is on the downside of his illustrious career because he shot even par Sunday, when only three of 45 players shot under par, none in the top seven.

Had he made either of the 3-foot putts he missed on the back nine, he almost certainly would have caught and defeated Immelman and would have been declared uncontested ruler of the universe by the screamers.

Instead, he's washed up.

Should Woods have caught Immelman on Sunday? Yes, but he dragged his putter a couple of times and that was all it took.

He's a momentum player if there ever was one, and he just never found that roll at Augusta, never really put the pressure on the leaders.

Worse is the way Woods played the par-5s. Refusing to take a bucketful of birdies, Woods tried to turn every par-5 into an eagle opportunity and gave away shot after shot after shot.

It's this stubbornness and impatience that cost him a shot at the Grand Slam.

While little Trevor Immelman was playing the par-5s in 7-under for the weekend, Woods was only 4-under on 16 par-5s.

We need not point out the 3-shot difference, which also was the margin of victory.

So while Woods never played great this time at Augusta -- at least by his standards -- even an average weekend for him was nearly good enough to win, just as it almost was a year ago.

And for all who doubt the possibility of a grand slam, he was a putt or two away from having one down with three to go.

He may never talk about it again, but he may want the Grand Slam now more than ever, now that he has been told it's impossible, and perhaps he'll play more leading up to the Masters next year.

In the meantime, go ahead and tell him again that his career is withering away, while the rest of the PGA Tour curses you -- and ducks for cover.

Ivan Boldirev-ing

The Wolves don't promise to make the playoffs every year and then talk about next year. They've actually made it 13 times in 14 years, and they open the postseason Wednesday (7 p.m.) at the Allstate Arena vs. Milwaukee, with Game 2 on Friday (7:30 p.m.).

The top-seeded Wolves continue to broadcast every game live on Comcast and at chicagowolves.com.

About time

Just in time for the opening of Arlington Park, HRTV finally has reached agreement with Comcast to broadcast the racing network on Channel 407 beginning April 30.

Warming up

As long as we're thinking of it, only 17 days to the first Party in the Park.

The numbers

Consider that last year, when the conditions were even worse at Augusta due to the weather, and Tiger Woods finished second to Zach Johnson by a deuce, Woods went 9-under on the par-5s, still 2 fewer than Johnson's 11-under on those 16 holes, when Johnson had refused to go for the green in 2 and took the easy birdies.

Rumor of the week

Barry Bonds to the woeful Tigers.

Best call

ABC7's Jeff Blanzy, himself a sick and twisted striker of the rock, not only picked Trevor Immelman to win the Western Open in 2006 but also offered -- during a dull moment in the baseball postseason last fall -- that he thought Immelman was poised to win a major this year.

What's next, Mega Millions?

Best line

Penguins forward Gary Roberts, on the antics of New York agitator Sean Avery: "He's an idiot.''

Best quote

Paul Goydos, a 19-year PGA Tour veteran, on Tiger Woods: "It's rough when your only weakness is that you've never won a major from behind. Wow. Neither have I.''

And finally …

T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times, on Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones: "Jones hit .222 last season, and the Dodgers gave him $36.2 million. What would they have paid him had he hit his weight?"

brozner@dailyherald.com