Tiger's joke met with embarrassing silence

Tiger Woods only had to open his mouth and every utterance used to be lapped up by the masses.

Now, he can't even muster a giggle when he tries to crack a joke.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of the US PGA Championship, Woods was asked whether he felt he was a step off the pace of the majors challengers.

But his response went down like a lead balloon as he tried to crack a joke.

"No I don't think (I have)…I can still walk the same pace on the golf course, " Woods replied, before breaking into a smile as he waited for the laughs to flow.

But where once the media would have guffawed in deference to the one time golf deity, the room fell awkwardly silent.

Tiger was then forced to pick up the slack and answer the question in a somewhat embarrassing moment.

The joke and response underlines just how far the 14-time major winner has fallen in the wake of his sex scandal, marriage break-up and battling form, which now has him ranked 278 in the world.

Hopefully his approach shots and putts don't fall as short as his joke when he tees off at Whistling Straits.