The Reviews

It's Better in The Bahamas..... so far, at least, it's better than even last year.

Batting lead-off, Josh Berow from the orphan Golf Magazine:

NASSAU, Bahamas — No one will confuse the first round of the Hero World Challenge for Masters Sunday. It's an unofficial PGA Tour event run by the Tiger Woods

Foundation. There are only 18 players competing on a less-than-taxing Albany layout, and the galleries are more U.S. Amateur than U.S. Open. 

But if you don't think Thursday's opening round meant a great deal to the tournament host, you would be wrong. 

Playing a competitive round for the first time in 301 days, Woods opened with a mixed-bag three-under 69. He hit big drives through the breeze and made long putts. He chunked chips (twice) and fist-pumped (also twice). He cussed like he used to in his world-beating heyday. Most important, though, he looked healthy. He didn't grimace after swings or gingerly bend down to pick up his ball. He joked with playing partner Justin Thomas on the tee box and in the fairway yet still exhibited his signature steely stare.

Well, it wasn't quite a vintage steely stare, but he was able to stare without back pain, so there's that. 

Steve Di Meglio noted another throwback move:

On the fourth hole of his latest comeback, the Tiger Woods of old showed up when he

chunked a short chip shot. 

Moments later, the Tiger of old showed up again when he buried a 20-footer for par on the same hole and uncorked the first fist pump of his comeback. 

While Woods called his ballyhooed return “up and down,” he produced far more roars than groans in Thursday’s first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Course. In his first start in 10 months and just his fourth in two years, the former world No. 1 didn’t have any issues with his surgically repaired back and was a physical, powerful brute with driver in hand — regularly exceeding 320 yards off the tee.

C'mon, that was an old man's fist pump.....

But Doug Ferguson might be on to something:

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.

OMG!  Forget the stares and fist pumps, if he's dropping F-Bombs he must really be back....

Bob Harig is clearly not grading on the curve:

So hitting 7 out of 13 fairways, 12 out of 18 greens and needing 28 putts was a solid

performance, even on a relatively benign Albany Golf Club course that saw 15 of the 18 players break par. 

"I was very happy I found the rhythm of the round by the second hole,'' said Woods, who made five birdies and two bogeys. "After I hit that 8-iron in there pin high (on the par-3 second), I felt I've got the rhythm. On 3, I smashed a drive down there and then hit a 2-iron about 265 into the wind, I just hit it on a rope, put it up there on the green. I knew I was back playing again.

Even I'm not that stingy with the praise....  It's really hard to see how the day could have gone much better.  He was busting it 320 off the tee, past that Thomas guy on occasion.  He had that one horrible drive blocked right-of-right, but he was known to do that back in the day as well...  The putter looked good as well...  He had the two zaftig chips and at least one sub-par bunker shot, but he posted a very credible score....

And Jeff Babineau had one more positive:

Tiger Woods stood over an 8-footer to save par on his final hole in his long-awaited comeback round on Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, and he never did see the majestic double rainbow that seemed to stretch across the entire island behind him. 

Typical Tiger. Some parts of his game may be rusty. His penchant for grinding is not among them.

Geoff had these thoughts (and also gets a hat-tip for the aggregation services):

A few shaky wedge shots that looked more rusty than yippy to me dropped the performance from an A to maybe an A-, but Woods otherwise looked like his persistent old self. The coverage noted the grinding and driving distance, regularly at 320 yards with the big stick.

I do agree that those wedges didn't look yippy, though with the wet grainy conditions it's a bit difficult to know.  The day was a home run, though I'll go out on a limb and suggest that he might just go the wrong direction today.  It is, after all, still golf....

But this is way over-interpreting 18 holes on a wide-open track:

Tiger’s Masters odds fell, from 66-1 to 33-1.

Sell, baby!

In other tourney news, this is a nice story:

In the Bahamas this week at the Hero World Challenge, Spieth chose someone else to step in for Greller. One of Spieth's buddies from his high-school golf team in Dallas, Eric Leyendecker, is filling in, and what from we've learned about Leyendecker's story, it's quite inspirational.

Leyendecker has overcome three battles with cancer at a young age. In the post below, he details a surgery to remove a tumor in his kidney, and includes a video taken by his buddy, Spieth. You can hear Spieth offering inspirational words to Leyendecker, "You look good." Listen to the video below with audio:

That video is obviously at the link.  he describes himself as having beaten cancer, which we can only hope is true.

Here's another player that is having to make do with a substitute caddie:

Kevin Kisner had to make a call to the bullpen early in his first round at the Hero World Challenge after his longtime caddie went down with a knee injury. 

Jimmy Piercy came to the Bahamas with his good friend, caddie Duane Bock, to watch Bock loop for Kisner at Albany Golf Club. When Bock’s knee “popped” on the fourth hole, Piercy got closer to this week’s action than he ever expected. Bock was transported to the locker room, where officials helped to elevate his leg, and Piercy stepped into action to carry Kisner’s bag.

Caddies: still not athletes....

Lastly, Shack has this video of Daniel Berger's eagle putt that you need to go watch if you didn't see it.   After watching it several times I've come to the conclusion that Reed's ball was just to the right of Berger's line so that if he pushed his putt slightly it might deflect it back on line....

But Geoff buried his lede.....  I believe it was on Tiger's chip on the fourth, though I might be wrong.  But Justin Thomas's ball was just past the hole and a titch to the left, and he hustled up to it and threw down a coin.  Wassup with that?  I know these guys are focused like a laser on pace of play, so it's unconscionable that he would waste that time...  He's also on record as having the right to hurry and play such a shot, but maybe said inalienable right doesn't extend to other players?

Or, perhaps a darker motive....  He refused to backstop the only black player in the field.... Since I don't believe in coincidences, it must be RACISM!  Just kidding, for those that have had their senses of humor surgically removed....

They re-pair the small field here, and Tiger goes with Henrik Stenson today.