Tiger Woods shot 3-over 75 on Thursday on the Hero World Challenge.
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ALBANY, Bahamas — It wasn’t his physique that allow Tiger Woods down.
That felt like a very powerful takeaway from Thursday’s opening spherical on the Hero World Challenge, Woods’ first event for the reason that Masters and since his subtalar fusion surgical procedure: Woods appears to be like like he can do that. In latest comebacks, his swing has regarded good and his recreation has regarded sharp however, over the course of 1 or two or three or 4 rounds, his physique hasn’t stored up.
But if Thursday’s largest query was whether or not Woods appears to be like wholesome sufficient to have a future enjoying a restricted skilled {golfing} schedule, the reply was thrilling: to date, so good.
“I was dealing with bone on bone for a number of months,” Woods mentioned, referring to ache in his now-fused ankle. “I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
That nonetheless doesn’t imply Woods is all-the-way, 100-percent wholesome. He nonetheless walks with a slight limp. He aches. And his ankle might not harm prefer it did, however he describes the ache as having redirected elsewhere. Asked the place he feels sore, he tried for a one-word reply — “everywhere” — however gave extra specifics, too.
“My leg, my back, my neck. Just from playing, hitting shots and trying to hold off shots,” he mentioned. “It’s just different at game speed, too. Game speed’s a lot different than at home speed.”
That pace was encouraging from the leap. Woods smoked his opening tee shot 326 yards down the center of the primary fairway. Later within the spherical, he was measured at 177 mph ball pace together with his driver, nicely above Tour common. Things began good and stayed that method for some time; via 14 holes, Woods was 1-under par on comparatively windy day at Albany, not far off the lead.
But issues didn’t end in addition to they’d began. At No. 15, a brief, downwind par-5, Woods drove his ball right into a bush and wound up making double bogey. Two extra bogeys adopted and he settled for a three-over-par 75, bettering simply two golfers within the 20-player subject.
It wasn’t till Woods’ post-round remarks that we entered unfamiliar territory. Woods has confronted questions after practically each spherical of his skilled life, good or dangerous. But whereas we’re used to him explaining poor outcomes with references to his swing, his physique or his execution, one space has usually remained untouchable: his thoughts. But not on Thursday.
“I had, really, a lack of commitment through of of the middle part of my round and finishing,” he mentioned. “I just didn’t quite commit to what I was doing and feeling.”
A pair photographs particularly drew Woods’ ire. His tee shot on the par-5 eleventh squirted out to the best and compelled a layup. His iron shot on the par-3 twelfth began method proper and stayed there, main to bogey. And a quick-hook driver at No. 15 led to double.
“You take it for granted, I guess, when you’re playing all the time,” he mentioned post-round. “OK, the wind, it’s coming up, move the ball back [in your stance], you just kind of lean on it just a little bit, just flight it down a little bit, add a couple yards. Instead of reacting to it, I was thinking about doing it. Then as I was thinking about it, should I do this or not, by then I’m pulling the trigger when I shouldn’t really pull the trigger. Hit a bad shot. I kept doing it time and time again. It was a lack of commitment to what I was doing and feeling. I’ve got to do a better job of it.”
What he mentioned was hardly controversial. It was extremely relatable, in truth. Golfers at each degree of the sport battle with committing to a shot, and waffling between swing ideas is usually the worst attainable sin. But for Woods, whose thoughts has at all times been a fortress, it was notably completely different to hear him admit it.
“I wanted to play. I felt like I was ready to compete and play. I hit it solid most of the day,” he mentioned. “As I said, I just didn’t mentally do the things I normally would do and I need to do.”
On Friday Woods will hope to play a extra full, dedicated spherical when he tees it up alongside Rickie Fowler at 11:02 a.m. But he acknowledged that, regardless of an encouraging first day, there will likely be loads to do to prepare for one more one.
“I’m sore, there’s no doubt about that,” he mentioned. “And now I know mentally what I need to do better. I think that’s something that physically I knew I was going to be OK. Mentally, I was really rusty and I made a lot of errors in the mind that normally I don’t make.”
Physically, I knew I used to be going to be OK.
That assurance is music to the ears of golf followers all over the place.
I made a whole lot of errors within the thoughts.
That’s much more stunning. But it’s refreshing, too. And it’s not overly worrisome. This remains to be the thoughts of Tiger Woods, in any case. If his ft and his ankle and his knees and his again and his neck can cooperate, his thoughts will sustain.
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