JOHNS CREEK, GA. - For years, it was the dream of many amateurs to play golf like Tiger Woods.

Now they do.

The takeaway from the 93rd PGA Championship is Woods got worse, not better, during the six rounds he played at the WGC-Bridgestone and then the PGA Championship as he returned from a three-month stint to rehab knee and Achilles tendon injuries.

He hit a number of on-course lows, including his highest opening round at a major (77). If he wasn't in the sand, he was in the water.

If it wasn't his driving (awful), it was his putting (not much better).

Usually guarded and not very forthcoming, Woods admitted he was angry with his play after missing the cut for just the third time in a major and missing out on a chance to make the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The good news for Woods was he said his left knee was pain free. That should allow him to work as much as he wants on his swing with coach Sean Foley during the next couple of months.

Woods is certainly a supremely gifted athlete with tremendous physical and mental strengths, but one of the things that has separated him from the rank and file is his work ethic. With everything going on in his life, the injuries and personal upheaval, he hasn't been able to put in the hours on his game, especially as he learns a new swing with Foley.

Is he now in a place to put those hours in again? His life has changed and he's adapting. He's not playing this week because he has his kids.

He kept saying over the past couple of weeks he needed tournament rounds to improve, but after failing to make the playoffs, his chances are few unless he wants to play some Fall Series events.

Woods is scheduled to play in friend Notay Begay's charity event near Syracuse, N.Y., at the end of August, but he isn't scheduled to play competitively again until November when he goes to Australia for a couple of appearance fees and the Presidents Cup. Despite Woods' struggles it's expected American captain Fred Couples will make him a captain's pick.

What we saw Sunday at the PGA Championship is that the golf landscape has changed, likely for good.

It's likelier than ever that Woods will never get back to what he was, although some would warn against that kind of thinking.

"He should just go back to doing what he was doing -- be a freak," said a doorman at an Atlanta hotel, a casual fan who watches golf only because of Woods.

"He's single now, do whatever he wants. That seems to be when he played his best."

That's one thought.

With Woods' game in a state of transition -- from world domination to what, we're not sure -- there have been 13 different winners of the past 14 majors. A dozen different guys have won the past 12 majors, the past seven all first-time major winners.

There have been great stories among them. Rookie Keegan Bradley's win Sunday was spectacular, rallying from a triple bogey with two consecutive birdies while Jason Dufner, who had looked bulletproof, suddenly made three bogeys in a row to blow a four-shot lead with four holes to go. It all took place on a spectacularly difficult stretch of holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club and made for a gripping conclusion.

If Woods had done what Bradley did Sunday, they'd be writing books about it.

Now Bradley, who wore St. John's University colours Sunday, is the guy in the red shirt who willed himself to win a major.

Bradley adds his name to those of Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day as a kid to watch.

The Woods saga will always be a compelling narrative and with the PGA Tour embarking on television negotiations, it would be good for business if Woods could recapture at least some of his previous winning form.

But what we saw Sunday was pretty good theatre.

chris.stevenson@sunmedia.ca

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