Tiger Woods' Return

[RenoZag]

Mr. Woods returns this week to competitive golf after a long hiatus due to injuries, ailments, and other stuff.

The limited field (18 players) of the Hero World Challenge won't be a true test of Woods' mettle. I'm going to follow the coverage out of curiosity yet I don't have a feeling one way or another about his results.

What would constitute a successful return ? I've heard everything from "just playing 72 holes without injury" to "shooting par or better."

I think if he was just happy to be playing he would have played the Napa tournament. He must feel his game is competitive again.

[mtzaga]

He's back. He shot a bogey-free 65.

[bartruff1]

I go back to Ben Hogan and the one thing I noticed about great players past their prime was their ability to shoot a very good score in one or even two rounds.... but they could never do it for 4 rounds.....except for that Masters win for Fat Jack.....

I hope he is back, but I doubt it....in any case, if one of those yachts in the harbor is his....he could concentrate on the " other stuff " as Reno so diplomatically said.

[RenoZag]

He's back. He shot a bogey-free 65.

He played solo in slightly less than 3 hours. If he can shoot 65 in a group over a four and a half or five hour grind, I would agree. Any golfer who has had the opportunity to be the first off on a course, with no one in front of you, no waiting on every shot, and so forth. . .usually those kinds of conditions produce good results.

Tomorrow he'll be paired with Rickie Fowler. Spieth and Snedeker will be in the twosome ahead, Stenson and Koepka in the twosome behind. Might be pretty good TV

I hope the guy is healthy and has his head screwed on straight. When I watched the entirety of his interview with Charlie Rose last month, I came away thinking his competitive fire was strong as ever but his hubris had waned a bit. Maybe he fooled me ?

Professional golf will be more intriguing to watch in the month's ahead if Mr. Woods is occasionally in the running to win on Sunday. If he actually wins (especially a major) it would be a remarkable athletic comeback.

[LongIslandZagFan]

Honestly, I really hope he is back. From the post round interview from yesterday where the back 10 holes seemed to have the round derail, I found him to be humble and honest with himself. He even joked about how he got hungry toward the end of the round. Also, the bit of a chuckle when he dropped one in the water seemed to show he wasn't expecting to hit the ground running. Should be interesting to see where he is when he gets to Augusta.

[mtzaga]

TW shot a 70, -2. He was -5 in the round but he shot a 38 on the back with a double on 18. A work in progress but things look encouraging.

Matsuyama shot a 65 and leads by 7.

[KStyles]

This is a good start. Friday back half was rough, 18 today as well. If it wasn't Tiger, it'd be chalked up to a round of golf.

He may not be transcendent anymore, but playing golf like a pro is pretty good. Sundays will be a lot better with Tiger playing.

[mtzaga]

Tiger Woods returns to real golf tomorrow at the Farmers Insurance Open. He tees off at 10:30 PST on Torrey Pines South. It's only 7700 yards. It looks like they will be playing "lift, clean, and place" so he will have to drive it in the fairway. I hope he plays well.

[bartruff1]

I least he has some decent clubs...

[RenoZag]

I least he has some decent clubs...

He's still playing his Nike blades this week. He's going to work with TaylorMade R & D to get irons he's happy with, per the Golf Channel this morning, and this report from ESPN's Bob Harig:

Tiger Woods has Nike irons in his bag today and it appears they will be there for awhile. Woods said during the pro-am at Torrey Pines that the testing process is "daunting" and that it will take a good bit of time to make the transition to TaylorMade, which he now represents.

Guess we'll find out this weekend if he successfully got rid of the rust on his game, bart.

[bartruff1]

Phil M. said years ago that only Tiger was talented enough to play with those Nike clubs...

[RenoZag]

Phil M. said years ago that only Tiger was talented enough to play with those Nike clubs...

I'm a Ping guy (irons, fairway woods) and use a Callaway driver. Hoping 2017 sees me getting to play more golf than the recent past. I'm a middle handicapper but I find more fun in the game than I used to.

[bartruff1]

Me to....

[mtzaga]

I have G10 irons and a 3 hybrid. The irons hit the ball too high at times. I plan to pick up a G driver later this spring. My bro in law has a G SF and picked up 20 yards and got rid of his banana ball. You can't go wrong with Ping, IMO.

[mtzaga]

Tiger shot 76-72 for a MC. Day and DJ also missed the cut. Tiger is on his way to Dubai.

[mtzaga]

TW WD from next two tournaments. LA Open and Honda. Back spasms must be bad, especially when you can't hit it in the fairway.

[former1dog]

One would think that Tiger would seriously be considering retirement at this point.

What ever happens on that front, I think we've seen the last of the Tiger we all remember from the glory days.

[RenoZag]

Woods begins the third round at the Honda Classic 4 shots back. He thinks his game is close to what it should be. David Duval thinks he's 80 -85%. . .It has been a long time since Tiger was relevant on the weekend of a full field tournament. Woods hasn't broken 70 yet in 2018. If he's going to make a run, he needs to move up in the standings today.

[RenoZag]

Woods shot his first score in the 60s this year, and he hit his highest number of fairways (nine) and greens (14) of any of his nine rounds and finished the third round of the Honda Classic in a tie for 11th.

"I really hit it good,'' Woods said. "I really had nice control of it today. If I could have just made a few more putts on the front nine, could have got the round started. I got the round started with a par putt on 12. Overall I feel very pleased to shoot something in the red and give myself a chance going into tomorrow, see what happens.''

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/...-honda-classic

[former1dog]

One would think that Tiger would seriously be considering retirement at this point.

What ever happens on that front, I think we've seen the last of the Tiger we all remember from the glory days.

Will I be eating my words. He's looked pretty solid in his most recent comeback. A top 15 finish today? Pretty damn good. Still a far cry from his glory days.

[CDC84]

I am just worried that Tiger is the kind of guy who "can't" get away from the game. It's all he's known about since he was a little kid. That he doesn't know what to do with himself besides golf.

Like the constant jokes you hear on ESPN about Brett Favre coming back. Although I know he had a successful period with the Vikings, for me as a sports fan he tarnished his legacy by coming back into football and playing for a league rival. He just couldn't put the game aside.

It's kind of sad, but it's what happens when these kids are brought up so one-sided. Other pro athletes have a real plan for what they want to do post-retirement, even if it involves giving back to the sport.

[former1dog]

I am just worried that Tiger is the kind of guy who "can't" get away from the game. It's all he's known about since he was a little kid. That he doesn't know what to do with himself besides golf.

Like the constant jokes you hear on ESPN about Brett Favre coming back. Although I know he had a successful period with the Vikings, for me as a sports fan he tarnished his legacy by coming back into football and playing for a league rival. He just couldn't put the game aside.

It's kind of sad, but it's what happens when these kids are brought up so one-sided. Other pro athletes have a real plan for what they want to do post-retirement, even if it involves giving back to the sport.

With the Champions league, professional golfers really don't have to retire. The can keep on playing.

[mtzaga]

Tiger is -4 thru 15 holes at the Valspar Championship. He’s -5 overall and leading the tournament. A win will be huge. It looks like Phil inspired him.

[jbslicer]

Tiger is -4 thru 15 holes at the Valspar Championship. He’s -5 overall and leading the tournament. A win will be huge. It looks like Phil inspired him.

MTGA!

[23dpg]

MTGA!

I don’t expect him to win. I’d love to be wrong.