Tiger: The Comeback (Again)

Tiger Returns To Torrey Pines As He Begins His Latest Comeback Attempt - Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons  

By Alfie Lau

The sun rises just after 6:40 a.m. in late January in San Diego, but that didn’t stop Tiger Woods and hundreds of golf fans from seeing him tee off in the Farmers Insurance Open Pro-Am on Wednesday at Torrey Pines (North).

Woods made a textbook birdie on the first – just as the sun was rising – on the way to a 1-under round – but his play was marked by moments of Tiger brilliance, offset by rusty bogeys from wayward drives and indifferent chips.

Woods looks and feels like a new man after back fusion surgery, and while his once indomitable self is long gone, he’s still not short in the confidence department. “I feel great coming back here to southern California,” said Woods. “This is a golf course and a tournament that I’ve had some pretty good results in.”

Yeah, 8 wins total in Torrey, including 7 Farmers Insurance Opens and one unforgettable 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger’s 14th and last Major win. But that Tiger wasn’t the one we saw Wednesday. Instead, we saw an older, more mature golfer who’s trying to fight off Father Time and the young bucks who now rule the PGA TOUR. “I have no more pain in my back, my back is fused,” said Woods. “Quality of life is infinitely better than it was last year at this point.”

Woods kicks off his 2018 season at Torrey, two-and-a-half years since he last played regularly on the PGA TOUR. “I’ve got to start somewhere and try and get my game and my feels back,” said Woods. “I just really haven’t played tournament golf in, well, basically since Wyndham in 2015. It’s been a long time and so I just want some starts. I want to start feeling what it feels like to be out here and hit shots, grind out scores and that’s something that I’ve been looking forward to.”

Woods isn’t the only one, as the hundreds of golf fans who followed him around Wednesday can attest. During a brisk four-and-a-half hour Pro-Am round, Tiger bombed driver whenever possible and at times resembled the 14-time Major champion we all know and remember so well. On his front nine, he had three birdies, three bogeys and three pars.

And while his putter helped him escape big numbers, his driver did get him into some trouble. For example, on the 5th hole, he hit it so far right that he was just left of the second tee box, a good 50 yards from the centre of the fifth fairway.

Now sporting TaylorMade clubs, the driver, which for some reason was referred to as Snowflake, is going to be key to Tiger’s comeback. “With the drivers as big as they are, I know they’re supposed to be exactly the same, but they’re not and that’s why I said each club is little bit of a snowflake, they’re all slightly different,” said Woods.

“I had one that I used in the Bahamas, the M2, and that thing was, it felt really good to me in the waggle, in the set-up position, looking at it in the playing position, I felt it was fantastic, but my swing has evolved since then, so I need something slightly different. Now I’m with the M3 and it took me a while to find one there, too. A lot of testing, a lot of drivers, a lot of moving stuff around until I finally found one.”

We’ll all find out Thursday, starting at 10:40 a.m. when Woods’ latest comeback begins.

About The Writer:

Alfie Lau has been a contributor to Inside Golf for several years and is making his annual pilgrimage to Torrey Pines for part of the PGA TOUR's West Coast Swing. He can be reached at www.twitter.com/AlfieLau