TROON, Scotland — A fine line separates optimism from delusion, a narrow DMZ where the belief that things will improve collides with immovable facts that simply won’t support buoyancy. That’s the space where Tiger Woods’ fans have been living for years, and his early but not unexpected departure from the 152nd Open can only render as hollow casuistry the arguments of the diehard faithful. It was a performance that leaves a lot of available real estate on the island of believers in Woods’ prospects as an elite force.
