Moreover, new talent is coming up faster than ever, or at least more of it is. Only 23 teenagers, including Woods, Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Sergio Garcia, have ever played the Masters. This year, three teens will be making their debut: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who at 19 is already ranked 17th in the world; South Korea's Danny Lee, 18, who last year became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Amateur, eclipsing Tiger's record by seven months; and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, 17, who became the youngest player ever to win on a major pro tour when he captured a tournament in Japan at age 15.

The number four represents the number of knee surgeries Tiger had now endured. In his stirring 2009 U.S. Open victory, Woods demonstrated that he could play on one leg and still beat all comers. And in his win last month at the Arnold Palmer Invitational—a double comeback in that he came from behind while playing in only his second tournament since his nine-month hiatus to recover from the knee surgery—Tiger demonstrated that he is back in command. Still, the combination of age and injury is the most serious threat to ongoing success in all sports.

Finally, the number two represents the number of children in the Woods family. Tiger's daughter, Sam Alexis, will be 2 in June and his son, Charlie Axel, is barely 3 months old. Woods's recovery from knee surgery came with a hidden blessing, a chance to spend extensive time with his children. Given how Tiger honors the example of his own father, we can assume he intends to be more of an involved dad than an absentee one. As his children grow older, there will inevitably be some tug between his golfing ambitions and his parental responsibilities. Fulfilling the later can certainly constrain the former.

Most fans still believe that Woods will attain that record for career majors. But life is fickle and, among its games, golf is as fickle as any. Even his fans recognize that and insist that the record ultimately doesn't matter, that Tiger is clearly the greatest player ever.

We tend to dismiss athletes from the past, many of whom fans with strong opinions never even saw, and easily bestow that "greatest ever" level on our contemporaries: Michael Jordan rather than Oscar Robertson; Roger Federer rather than Rod Laver; Muhammad Ali rather than Joe Louis. I happen to believe that when it comes to our final judgment on Tiger, it does matter whether he captures the record. Indeed when it is the extraordinary career of "The Golden Bear" at issue, it matters a great deal.

© 2009