Tiger Agonistes

I started this post yesterday morning, but the real world intervened once again.  Fortunately, with no hard data before Thursday, there's little loss of continuity.

So, let's see what folks are yakking about.  Via Shack, Steve DiMeglio had this:

For more than two hours, and with his trusted caddie, Joey LaCava, by his side, Woods sent one Bridgestone 330S golf ball after another into the horizon, working on all

trajectories and shot shapes with all sorts of clubs. While he hasn’t played in nearly 470 days — and his world ranking has dropped to No. 879 — the 14-time major champion and the winner of 79 PGA Tour titles is finally set to return to competitive golf this week in the Hero World Challenge at Albany, which begins Thursday and benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. 

“I’m ready to go,” Woods said.

Did you notice what I did there?  In the biz that's known as "burying the lede", since Tiger playing a Bridgestone ball is its own news....  More on that in a bit.  But first some pearls from Himself:

That’s no longer the case. Woods, who pulled out three days before the Safeway was to begin, said he was mentally drained from his work as an assistant captain for the winning USA squad in the Ryder Cup, so that didn’t help. And he knew his game just wasn’t ready for prime time at the time. 

“I have way more shots now, because I’ve played way more golf. I only had a handful of shots back then,” said Woods, who played nine holes at Albany shortly after he arrived on Saturday. “And you just saw a session where I hit everything. And I had control of everything. I can hit all the shots now, on call. ... 

“It was a smart decision in the end to pull out of the tournaments. The competitor inside me wanted to go so badly, I was itching to go, I had been playing at home, and I thought I could get it around. I had played feeling worse and won golf tournaments. But I finally decided why rush … I had waited more than a year, so let’s wait a little more and get it right.”

Surprisingly, Shack didn't excerpt that first comment, as it's not like him to pass on one of his trademarked "cart-driver" jibes....  Geoff, are you running a fever?  Let me pitch in, as I can well imagine the strain of remembering that Brooks Koepka does not like mayonnaise on his turkey club can wear a guy down....

But of course he's gonna throw out that tender spine in patting himself on the back for the Safeway WD.  Not seen in any commentary since is remorse for the unnecessary burdens borne by the event as a result, or even a commitment to play there when healthy.

I'll also confess to being unmoved by his explanation, because no one expected him to have "all the shots" first time out, that is, until he himself raised those expectations.

Bob Harig at ESPN apparently liked what he saw:

Woods had no trouble carrying drives over 300 yards, shaping shots in both directions with his various clubs while showing no pangs of discomfort. Of course, it's Sunday, not the opening round on Thursday of an otherwise low-key, 18-player tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. It's a year-ending cash grab for many stars of the game, and how they fare here is of little consequence. There are world ranking points at stake, and a $3.5 million purse with $1 million going to the winner.

That's a staple of the Tiger comeback genre, always a report of great things on the range or a low score in a worst-ball scramble, though those usually come from people with curious names like Jesper or Notah.

Shack has some Tiger prop bets in his post, but this bit sums up the state of cynicism:

In fact, according to the site as of Sunday morning, Woods has a much better chance of retiring by Jan. 1, 2018 than he does of winning a PGA Tour or European Tour event by that time. BookMaker lists Woods retiring by that date at +385 (You bet $100 to win $385), and him winning an event in 2017 at +900. Don't be too alarmed, Tiger fans. Woods not retiring by then is still a heavy favorite at -485 (You risk $485 to win $100).

Lee Trevino knows more about back issues than most, and offers this note of caution:

“When you injure your back, your body is telling you that you can’t move that way,”

Trevino said in a phone interview. “Tiger has to revamp his swing. If he comes back and keeps swinging the way he did, he’ll re-injure it. No question.” 

Trevino, like the rest of us, really doesn’t know what to expect when Woods makes his first tournament start in more than 15 months Thursday in the Hero World Challenge. It’s natural to view his comeback with rampant skepticism, given his aborted return at last month’s Safeway Open in Napa — he withdrew on Monday of tournament week, three days after officially entering the field. 

That made Woods look terrible.

Unless, lee, it was all that gym work that did him in....  but surely he's learned his lesson there?

After the long range session on Sunday, Woods recovered in a hot tub and got other treatment on his surgically repaired left knee and battered back. He was also in the gym

prior to his round on Monday. 

“I was talking to Jetes about it and Tino. How long did it take them to get ready for each game?” Woods said. “And it took them from 3-to-4 hours as they got older. And it’s the same thing for me. I was in the gym with [Rose], and he’s in there doing the same thing. He’s 36 now, and it takes him an hour, hour and a half, just to be able to go and hit balls.

“You have to activate the muscles. . . . We miss the days going to the first tee and hitting a drive 300 yards with a balata ball and a persimmon driver. You can’t do that anymore.”

Or not.  Just pray that his glutes activate, otherwise we may blow up Twitter.  Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing....

On the equipment front, we touched briefly on the Bridgestone ball.  Tiger does seem to go against the current in playing higher-spin balls, as Phil helpfully reminded us at the Ryder Cup.  there was video of him hitting an M2 driver, and it will be Throwback Thursday as far as the flat-stick:

Coming into the 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, Tiger Woods was T-102 in

putting on the PGA Tour and had won just three tournaments since a victory in the same event in 1997. At the ’99 Nelson, Woods, who rarely changes clubs, switched putters, put a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Newport 2 in his bag. Now, as Woods prepares for his latest comeback at the Hero World Challenge, reports are that the former World No. 1 is reuniting with his favorite flat stick. 

That’s not surprising given the club’s history. Woods was immediately successful with the putter as his putting average rank jumped to T-24 by the end of 1999. More important, he won seven of his next 11 starts with the club. In all, 13 of Woods’ 14 majors have come with the Cameron, and in his first eight full seasons he used the club (not counting 1999 and 2008 when he was ranked fourth before leaving the tour due to a knee injury), Woods ranked in the top 10 in putting average five times. Starting in 2004, which is the first year the tour has strokes gained/putting calculated, he ranked first, fifth, 21st, second and second, again skipping 2008 and 2010 when he did not play enough to be ranked. Woods changed to a Nike putter at the 2010 Open Championship and went back and forth between Nike and his Cameron for a bit before settling in with a Nike model in 2011.

The mystery, of course, is why the putter ever left his bag....  And speaking of the bag, I'm widely regarded as the Michael Jordan of segues, there was this:

In the wake of Nike exiting the golf club business, Tiger Woods is still sorting out the equipment he'll use in his latest comeback. In the meantime, it appears the bag that will carry his clubs will have a new logo. 

ESPN reports that Monster Energy will be the brand on Woods' bag when he tees it up at this week's Hero World Challenge. Monster is the second-biggest energy drink on the market, trailing only Red Bull.

Not classy at all....  It's bad enough to be hawking energy drinks, but when you're not up to the exacting standards of Red Bull....

And here's a truly depressing item about world ranking points.  I've ranted on this previously, but it's quite outrageous that an 18-player exhibition would carry OWGR points, but so it is.  Alex Myers saves me the trouble of actually explaining why:

Sadly, it's become commonplace on Twitter to provide updates of Tiger Woods' falling Official World Golf Ranking each Monday. Essentially, these tweets read as so: "Tiger Woods is now (blank) in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's one spot above (Insert name of a golfer you've never heard of) and one spot below (Insert name of another golfer you've never heard of)." 

As the 14-time major champ returns from a 15-month absence this week, the current number is 898 and the lesser-known golfers he's sandwiched between are Sean Riordan and Simon Yates. But the good news for Woods? While those two guys aren't playing in the Hero World Challenge, Woods is.

Not all that sad in my book, but here's the point from an epic nom de tweet:

As for the Twitter handle, you could look it up.

Can you see why Joe LaCava is making sure he can walk 72 holes?  Which, and do please note the segue genius, he'll be doing in these:

And I'll leave you with this breaking news courtesy of RadarOnline:

Tiger Woods isn’t keeping his relationship with girlfriend Kristin Smith a secret for much longer! RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal the couple will go public with the romance at an upcoming golf tournament. 

“She’s going to his tournament in the Bahamas that’s coming up,” a source close to Smith exclusively told Radar of the Hero World Challenge, which is from December 2-4.

The insider confirmed they’ve been splitting their time between Florida and her home in Dallas. 

RadarOnline broke the news of the golfer’s new romance with the personal stylist earlier this month.

I'm happy for the kids...  I just hope he broke the mold this time:

Errr...that would be a firm no.  What's the over-under for the first time the kids call her Lindsey?  Or, God forbid, Mom?