By Eric Margolin
On November 30th, Tiger Woods swung a golf club in a PGA tournament for the first time in 301 days. After four back surgeries, an unflattering DUI, and a 45-day therapy program, Woods returned to the golf course to do what he does best: play golf. Woods shot -8 (R1:-3, R2: -4, R3:+3, R4:-4) at the Hero World Challenge, finishing in 9th. While he looked rusty at times (as evidenced by his 11 bogeys), Woods finished with the most eagles of any player and a respectable 65% drive accuracy. To sift through all this golf talk, Woods looked pretty alright.
Over the past 5 years, Woods has never been pain free. His swing has seemed strained, and even walking the course he looked like he was in pain. Yet, this time seems different. Woods looked comfortable and focused, even joking with his playing partners as they walked the course. This vivacious energy is reminiscent of the Tiger of old. The brash young man whose fist-pump became an iconic celebration in the world of golf, seemed to be coming back. Tiger was never expected to win the Hero (8 of the 9 top ranked golfers in the world were in attendance), his score didn’t matter (yet it was pretty darn good). His health was the biggest test, and he seemed to pass with flying colors. His drives were powerful and accurate, his chips got better as the tournament went on, and his putts looked great for a guy coming off fusion back surgery. I’m not usually an optimist, but I believe Tiger is back again.
Yet, I can’t seem to shake this feeling of Déjà vu. At the Hero open last year Tiger led the field in birdies (and bogeys) and looked good. But by February, he couldn’t finish 18 holes due to constant back spasms. He says this time is different, but it’s still hard to believe. But for now, the best (or second best) golfer ever is back on the course and poised to start his ascent back towards the top of the golf world.
Image via Golf Digest
Over the past 5 years, Woods has never been pain free. His swing has seemed strained, and even walking the course he looked like he was in pain. Yet, this time seems different. Woods looked comfortable and focused, even joking with his playing partners as they walked the course. This vivacious energy is reminiscent of the Tiger of old. The brash young man whose fist-pump became an iconic celebration in the world of golf, seemed to be coming back. Tiger was never expected to win the Hero (8 of the 9 top ranked golfers in the world were in attendance), his score didn’t matter (yet it was pretty darn good). His health was the biggest test, and he seemed to pass with flying colors. His drives were powerful and accurate, his chips got better as the tournament went on, and his putts looked great for a guy coming off fusion back surgery. I’m not usually an optimist, but I believe Tiger is back again.
Yet, I can’t seem to shake this feeling of Déjà vu. At the Hero open last year Tiger led the field in birdies (and bogeys) and looked good. But by February, he couldn’t finish 18 holes due to constant back spasms. He says this time is different, but it’s still hard to believe. But for now, the best (or second best) golfer ever is back on the course and poised to start his ascent back towards the top of the golf world.
Image via Golf Digest
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