Why Tiger Woods' finish at the British Open shouldn't be a surprise

Consistency is hard to achieve, and dominance goes hand-in-hand.

Blame it on injuries, age, or an inability to focus, but Tiger Woods' real challenge sits at the top of the leaderboard. Young, hungry, talented golfers weren't going to stop developing. Just because Woods was here to be the best in the world doesn't mean everyone else stopped trying.

Rory McIlroy idolized Woods. He wanted to be Woods when he was a boy and dedicated his childhood to golf. After school and homework? Golf. Weekends? Golf. Sounds familiar.

Rickie Fowler has a different look about him, but the orange shouldn't scare you away from his tremendous talent emerging on tour this year. He is the only player who's finished in the top five of each major. 

That's a lot of competition under the age of 26 for 38-year-old Woods, who has 36 years of golfing experiencing behind him.

At 41, Jack Nicklaus, the most decorated golfer to live, began his descent. In 1979, Nicklaus didn't win a tournament on tour for the first time. He was 39. That started a trend. Nicklaus slowed significantly after 1980, with three wins in six years. His dominance began to fade, and that's where we are with Woods.

Nicklaus continued to play for 15 more years before being selective about tournaments he appeared in. He was remembered for his historic 18 majors and impressive performances.

Woods hasn't won a major in his last 19 appearances. He won all 14 of his majors in his first 46 appearances.

Tom Watson is a five-time British Open Champion. He carded his best round of the tournament Sunday, a 4-under 68. It was a performance that gave fans a glimpse, a little taste of what it was like to watch Watson in his prime.

That transition is happening for Woods. He has plenty of life in him, but he doesn't have much wiggle room to steal four more majors. 

Woods going into every tournament with the expectation of winning is good for his psyche, and he has to believe he can win, but it doesn't look realistic any more. He's lost a bit of patience, a bit of finesse. His finishes at majors are setting records for his worst.

Woods finishing in 69th place is almost jarring. You don't normally see his name at the bottom of the leaderboard. But it's certainly not going to be at the top if he continues to golf the way he has of late.

Tiger Woods was never going to be dominant forever, but we weren't prepared for such a fall from grace.