Armour: Love can't conquer Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn's schedules

Recovering from their respective injuries was great for Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods' careers.

Not so much for their relationship.

In news anyone who's looked at the World Cup and PGA Tour schedules could have seen coming, Vonn and Woods announced Sunday that they've parted ways after almost three years together. Both blamed their "hectic lives" for the split.

"Unfortunately, we lead very hectic lives and are both competing in demanding sports," Woods said in a statement similar to Vonn's. "It's difficult to spend time together."

Both are among the world's best in their sports, with Vonn an Olympic and world champion, and Woods a 14-time major winner. That doesn't happen without a lot of training and a single-minded focus on success, and as great an idea as it seems to put two of those people together, it's actually the recipe for a breakup.

(Somewhere Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki are nodding their heads.)

When Woods and Vonn first started dating, it was easy to be together. They were a good match, among the few people on the planet who can understand and appreciate what it takes to be the best at what you do. One of the few who can understand – and deal with – the downsides of fame, too.

For a while there, even their schedules were compatible.

Vonn shredded her knee during the 2013 world championships, an injury that would force her out of the Sochi Olympics and keep her off the slopes for most of the next two years. Sure, she rehabbed with a vengeance – go back and look at some of the photos she posted during that time and try not to wince – but she could do that from almost anywhere.

She got company in the recovery room last spring, when Woods began having back issues. The injury would eventually require surgery that kept Woods out of the 2014 Masters and caused him to play only sparingly last summer.

"We were kind of injured around the same time, and it was nice to just be in the gym with someone that knew what you were going through," Vonn said two weeks ago during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. "We kinda just pushed each other back to health."

Once they did, you may as well have put an expiration date on their relationship.

By all accounts, the two were happy and tried to make it work. Just last month, they looked like any other happy family as Vonn and Woods' young children, Sam and Charlie, joined Woods for the Par 3 Tournament at the Masters. Vonn seemed at ease with Woods' children, and she gushed about them at a movie premiere the next week.

"They're amazing kids, and he's an amazing father," she said. "I feel privileged to be along for the ride, and I help as much as I can. They're great kids — I love 'em."

But it can be difficult to have a successful relationship when you see the other person every six weeks or so. And unless Vonn or Woods was planning to call it a career, that's what they were facing now.

Woods' summer schedule, announced earlier this week, has him playing at least five tournaments in a nine-week span. On two continents, no less. Vonn may be in her offseason, but there's nothing off about it. The U.S. Ski Team traditionally goes to the Southern Hemisphere – usually New Zealand or Chile – over the summer to train.

Oh, and don't forget the hours she has to put in the gym to stay in shape. Tromping around a golf course for five hours a day, four or five days a week, isn't exactly conducive to that.

During that interview with Meyers, Vonn didn't exactly hide her feelings about how long and drawn-out her then-boyfriend's sport could be, all but calling it boring.

"I love golf," Vonn said, trying not to grimace. "(It's) like five hours. That's a long time."

Time was something neither of them had. At least, not enough of it.

GALLERY: Lindsey Vonn and TIger Woods