Tiger’s world welcoming new obstacles

See what happens when a man passes 30? Complications.

Tiger Woods, at 31, will become a father this summer.

Besides that, there have been recent moments when he has walked the golf course as a mere mortal; letting loose of the Masters on Sunday, having to grind for his wins, giving competitors enough new hope that some are not even too scared to mention it.

“I think,” Rory Sabbatini said the other day, ignoring possible charges of blasphemy, “he’s more beatable than ever.”

Besides that, the ever-present left-hander in his rear view mirror appears to be glossing up his game, with the help of a new swing coach who is Woods’ old swing coach. Picture Michigan’s offensive coordinator one day suddenly turning up at Ohio State’s practice. Phil Mickelson just won The Players Championship after only three weeks with Butch Harmon.

Besides that, Woods’ knee hurts.

“This is what happens, I guess, when you get in your 30s,” he said Sunday in his press conference after the TPC, for which he never seriously challenged.

Nothing really old about a golfer at 31. It’s not as if Tiger Woods were a women’s figure skater. But time passing can get a man to thinking. The clock ticks on everyone.

“It’s going to happen,” Woods said. “It’s happening right now.”

So here’s another new chapter in the Woods’ mythology. He is no longer the young and invulnerable young Jedi knight, but the maturing legend who must deal with the twists and turns and aches and pains of life and career.

Plus, an entire universe of golfers trying to catch him.

The battle line apparently is being redrawn again. Mickelson is on the move, while Woods will have many duties in coming weeks, from practice tee to hospital delivery room.

It is something of a shock to find that Mickelson will turn 37 on the Saturday of the U.S. Open. He has ebbed and flowed as Woods’ No. 1 challenger, but his performance at the TPC – after barely more than introductory lessons from Harmon to fortify his swing, especially off the tee – would suggest he is arming himself for another charge.

“I feel like we’re just getting started,” he said in his news conference after about three weeks with Harmon. “In three months, how much am I going to progress? In three years, where am I going to be?”

It is not impossible that Woods might really be more beatable now than ever.

Or that Mickelson’s new alliance with Woods’ old swing master could make him the man to prove it.

Summer should help sort it out. The U.S. Open is a month away.