Tiger Woods actually is more interesting than ever, and, no, it’s not because of the circus surrounding his marital indiscretions.

Woods had become boring in his dominance of the PGA Tour. He might have lost tournaments sometimes, but rarely was he beaten.

He was just that much better than everyone else.

No more.

Over the last several months, Woods has been tested morally, mentally and spiritually.

And now he has a serious neck injury that forced him to walk off the course Sunday at The Players Championship.

How much exercising his sexual mojo has affected his golfing mojo is open for debate.

Still, the Woods who has rejoined the PGA Tour after his long hiatus clearly is not the same player whose mere presence produced an aura of intimidation among his opponents.

For the first time in a long time, Tiger Woods is vulnerable.

He might still be ranked as the world’s top player, but no one would say he’s the best at this particular moment — not even him.

“In order to, as you say, ‘intimidate,’ you have to play well,” Woods said Monday at Aronimink Golf Club during a news conference for the AT&T National that will be played in July. “I haven’t done that, at least this year, when I’ve played three events.

“Last year, I thought I had a pretty good year, and this year, it hasn’t been that at all.”

During his leave of absence, the golf world didn’t stop spinning. The competition got better and more confident.

Nobody quaked in his spikes when Woods announced he would make his return in April at the Masters at Augusta National. And seeing him near the top of the leaderboard that Sunday didn’t invoke the type of anxiety in the other players that it had so often in the past.

He missed the cut in his next tournament, Quail Hollow, then withdrew Sunday from TPC with injury.

The story line with Woods has shifted dramatically.

He’s not feared.

Why would world-class golfers be intimidated by a mentally beaten-up player who is injured and coming off an extended layoff caused by self-inflicted wounds he’s still dealing with?

They’re not chasing him right now. He’s trying to catch up to them.

It’s great athletic theater.

In less than half a year, Woods has gone from a guy on course to become the greatest ever to one facing legitimate questions about whether he’ll reach Jack Nicklaus’ mark of 18 major championship victories.

It’s often been speculated that the only thing that could derail Woods would be family issues or injury.

Suddenly, Woods is dealing with both.

We don’t know what will happen with Woods.

I’m among those who believe that once he gets his issues in order, he’ll again separate himself from his challengers. But I’m not absolutely sure about that.

We’ve never seen Woods punched in the nose like this.

He’s just taken a standing-eight count after being floored by a powerful uppercut.

If I had to bet, I’d say Woods will follow the path of Muhammad Ali, who picked himself up after losing his first fight with Joe Frazier and became the greatest of all time.

Still, there’s a chance he could be like Mike Tyson. Once Tyson lost his aura of invincibility after being knocked out by Buster Douglas, he never came close to fulfilling the destiny that his magnificent start suggested.

I’m not saying that Woods will be like Tyson and go from champion to tomato can. Tyson was a bully who didn’t have the skills to excel once he lost the intangible of inciting fear.

We know Woods has all of the tools necessary to achieve immortality, but for the first time in a long time, it’s not a sure thing. Watching how this plays out will be anything but boring.