The pretenders were as obedient as ever and folded early, just like they always seemed to when Tiger Woods was in his prime.

Still mostly ahead of him was a course he knew well, one where he once rewrote the record books. Beside him was a player he knew well, a guy who used to always look for an excuse to blink.

It was the perfect opportunity to put more than two years of misery behind him.

The perfect time to make the statement that, yes, he was finally back.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing perfect about Tiger Woods anymore.

He used to threaten to make history every time he teed off. Now he just makes excuses, and they all sound the same.

He says he’s at peace with himself, and that may well be true. Put him in a red shirt on Sunday, though, and the demons seem to all come back.

It happened last time out in Abu Dhabi, when a mop-haired Englishman who had won only one time in his career stared him down in the final round. It happened again on Sunday at Pebble Beach, where he seemed to be trying so hard not to fail that he gave himself no chance to succeed.

Phil Mickelson blew by him like Woods was playing in the pro-am instead of teeing it up with the big boys. Things got so bad you almost wanted him to move up to the forward tees, where at least his amateur partner Tony Romo was finding some success.

He walked up the 18th fairway to the cheers everyone expected when the day began. But they were for Mickelson, who had walked ahead of him after stiffing a wedge to the final green.

It got worse. Mickelson was already in the hole for his final round 64 when Woods lipped out one final short putt for a big, fat 75. He could have – make that should have – putted out before Mickelson to avoid the final embarrassment, but Woods never really practiced the proper etiquette for finishing out of contention.

For what seems like forever now we’ve been asking what’s wrong with Tiger. Now the question becomes what’s wrong with Tiger on Sunday?

The record books will show he lost by nine shots in a tournament he trailed by four on the final day. Even worse, he was thrashed by Mickelson, his playing partner, by a stunning 11 shots.

Say what you will about his game getting so much better that he has been in contention in his four more recent tournaments. This would have never happened to the Tiger Woods of old.

“Anything I tried to do wasn’t working,” Woods said. “What was frustrating was I had a chance, all I had to do was get off to a good, solid start today and I didn’t do that.”

To put his round in perspective, only four of the 68 players who teed off on the final day shot worse. On a day Pebble Beach was there for the taking, Woods got taken.

And then the excuses began.

“I didn’t hit it as bad as the score indicated, but I putted awful,” he said. “I just could not see my lines. I couldn’t get comfortable.”

For those keeping score at home, he hasn’t won a real tournament (I don’t count the 16-man invitational he plays host for and won in December, though Woods does) in 27 months; hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in 29 months. It’s been nearly four years since he won his last major at Torrey Pines, and he’s now 36 with a history of knee issues.

The golf season is well underway, with The Masters less than two months away, and it’s entirely conceivable his winless streak will be longer by then.

Tiger Woods in red on Sunday used to mean something.

Now he’s become just another player, wearing another color.