Woods returns with solid round and good start in Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods looked a lot better in his return to golf than he did when he left.

Playing for the first time since his fourth back surgery, Woods returned from a 10-month layoff with a 3-under 69 on a breezy Thursday in the Bahamas that left him three shots behind Tommy Fleetwood after the opening round of the Hero World Challenge.

“For me, I thought I did great,” Woods said with a smile.

And in a sign that he was ready to get back into the mix, he was far from satisfied.

Unlike a year ago, when Woods ended a 15-month hiatus from his ailing back, he didn’t show any fatigue at the end of his round or make any big numbers. His only regret was playing the par 5s at Albany Golf Club in 1-over par with two bogeys that stalled his momentum.

Coming off a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, Woods hit a 3-wood that rolled up on the green and then down a slope about 30 feet from the pin. It took him four shots from there, starting with a chip that didn’t reach the green and his first expletive loud enough for television to pick up.

After his best shot of the day — a pitching wedge he hit low from 95 yards that settled a foot behind the hole for birdie on No. 14 — he sent a drive well to the right into the native dunes. Woods had to take a penalty drop to get back in play and wound up making bogey.

But it was solid enough that Woods was far more interested in the leaderboard than the fact he felt strong physically.

“It was not only nice to get the first round out of the way, but also I’m only three shots out of the lead,” he said. “So to be able to put myself there after not playing for 10 months or so, it was nice to feel the adrenaline out there.”

He was tied for eighth in the 18-man field of this holiday exhibition that awards world ranking points but does not count as official on any tour. Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar were at 67, while Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Kevin Chappell were at 68.

The buzz was back. Johnson noticed it when he was on the practice range and noticed a crowd around the
putting green.

“Tiger must be there,” Johnson said. “Because there’s 40 people instead of four.”

Golf Channel added an hour of coverage, and Twitter came alive with people curious about the latest return. That included Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors’ two-time MVP who played a Web.com Tour event in August. “The wait is over. The wait is over,” he tweeted .

Michael Phelps said he was “pumped to be watching” Woods on TV again.

This event doesn’t draw big crowds, but most of them were with Woods to see how he would fare in this latest comeback, this one from fusion surgery on his lower back on April 20. Given it was his fourth surgery in three years, coupled with a DUI arrest in the summer that exposed the struggles Woods was having with pain medicine, a day like this seemed a long way off.

Woods said he appreciated the moment Thursday morning.

“I was in my head thanking all the people who have helped me in giving me a chance to come back and play this round again,” he said. “There were a lot of people who were instrumental in my life — friends, outside people I’ve never met before, obviously my surgeon. I was very thankful.”

And he was as competitive as always.

Woods delivered his first fist pump on par-4 fourth hole when he scooped a chip that didn’t reach the green, and then holed an 18-foot par putt.

While the field is short, the competition is strong with eight of the top in the world at Albany. Woods
realizes they have spent the last couple of years playing at a high level that allows them to overcome a few mistakes.

“I don’t want to lose shots,” Woods said. “I haven’t played in a very long time and I can’t afford to go out there and make a bunch of bogeys and know that I can make nine, 10 birdies and offset them.”

Along with his five birdies — only two of them were tap-ins — Woods had an assortment of tough par saves, including a 10-footer that kept him dropping another shot on a par 5 at No. 11. He finished his round with a belly wedge from short of the 17th green because of mud on his ball, and holing a 6-foot par putt on the 18th.

A year ago, Woods made a pair of double bogeys over the last three holes for a 73 to finish nine shots behind. This time, he closed with pars and was three back.

PGA champion Justin Thomas, who also opened with a 69 in the same pairing with Woods, is among those who
have played with him in recent weeks in Florida. Woods said he once played nine straight days.

“It was what I saw when we played at home,” Thomas said. “Obviously, taking this much time off from competition is hard. I felt rusty starting after a month-and-a-half, so I can’t imagine what it felt like for him. But he played well.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Tiger Woods getting strong reviews in return to golf

NASSAU, Bahamas — All eyes are on Tiger Woods and his return to golf, even the players he has to beat.

Especially the players.

Woods was on the back end of the practice range Monday at Albany Golf Club, hitting balls with Patrick Reed, when he looked up at a drone buzzing some 50 feet over him in the cloudy sky. He had no idea that Daniel Berger was at the controls.

Berger was on the front of the range, blocked by a row of bushes in the sand dunes. As the drone’s camera zoomed in, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner and their caddies crowded around Berger to look.

They cared more about his reaction to the drone than his swing.

But they are curious about his game.

And those who have played with Woods in recent weeks believe there is reason for the hype.

“People are going to be shocked at how good his game looks,” PGA champion Justin Thomas said.

Thomas will have the best seat in the house Thursday when Woods, who had fusion surgery on his lower back in April, plays for the first time in 10 months at the Hero World Challenge. Thomas, named the PGA Tour player of the year after winning five times and the FedEx Cup, is paired with him in the first round.

Thomas spends a fair bit of time with Woods at their Florida homes, and they played a few weeks ago.

The attention on Woods increased in recent days as more players joined him for casual rounds. Brad Faxon caused a stir when he played with Woods, Johnson and President Donald Trump on Friday.

“Tiger looked great to me,” Faxon wrote in a story for Golfweek . “I was impressed with how far he hit the ball. Probably on the 10 holes that they were both hitting driver, Tiger hit it past Dustin half the time and Dustin hit it past Tiger half the time. He looked great. I think more than anything, he looked at ease. He was not concerned about swinging hard and going at it with driver. The ball flight, the sound off the club, all of it was right there.”

Johnson is among the elite power players in the game. True story?

Johnson smiled.

“He hit it by me a couple of times,” Johnson said. “Did I bomb one and he hit it past me? No. But he did it past me a few times. He was moving it, though.”

All this hype in the chill environment of the Bahamas should sound familiar. It was only last year when Woods returned after 15 months away from the game. He had gone through three back surgeries at that point, the first one right before the 2014 Masters, and Woods looked relatively normal, with freedom in his swing. He made 24 birdies, along with enough mistakes that he finished 14 shots out of the lead, in 15th place among an 18-man field.

Woods missed the cut at Torrey Pines two months later, flew to Dubai and managed one round — a 77 in calm conditions — before withdrawing with back spasms.

What appears to be different this time, at least from those who have played with him, is the absence of pain.

Patrick Reed played nine holes of practice with him Monday morning. He saw Woods do whatever he wanted with his swing and saw an assortment of shots — a stinger off the tee, a low draw, a high cut.

“He seemed to have command of not only the golf club, but his body,” Reed said.

It was the first time Reed had played with Woods since the opening round of the Hero World Challenge last year. The difference Reed noticed was that Woods looked more free and fluid in going after any shot.

“It looked like there was a little hesitation the last time I played with him,” Reed said. “This time, he was fully committed and fully trusted in his body. There was no pain. That’s the biggest thing for me. If he stays healthy, then he’ll be back playing golf, hopefully like he used to. I want to see it and I want to compete against it.”

Johnson said Friday’s round with Woods and the president was a big change from when the two played the opening two rounds at Torrey Pines together in January, when both missed the cut.

“His speed was back. He played a lot better than he did in San Diego, for sure,” Johnson said. “He’s healthy. To me, he looks strong. He’s swinging with speed instead of in San Diego. When I played with him there, he wasn’t swinging at it. You could tell he was hurt.”

The question is whether there is rust from having been gone from competition for so long.

Woods has played only three tournaments since August 2015. Three of the four times that he returned to competition dating to that first back surgery before the 2014 Masters, Woods lasted no more than three starts before taking more time off.

source: sports.inquirer.net