Roundup: Tiger Is Back With A 74
/Given how bad the start was, Tiger Woods' 74 in the opening round of the Quicken Loans National was pretty decent.
Jim Moriarty's assessment for GolfDigest.com:
Give him this much, in his first competitive round since back surgery on March 31, Tiger Woods could at least bend over and tie his shoes on the first tee. Going out in four-over-par 39 on Congressional C.C.’s back nine, his front, it looked for a while like it would take a belt sander to knock all the rust off Woods’ game. On the front, however, he birdied three of his final six holes to finish with a respectable three-over 74. In Woodsian jargon, for what it was, it was what it is. In Woodsian jargon, for what it was, it was what it is.
Rex Hoggard's take for GolfChannel.com:
“The score is not really indicative of how well I played,” Woods said. “I made so many mistakes.”
Conventional wisdom suggested that because Woods had been limited to only chipping and putting for much of the time since his surgery his short game would not be as rusty as his tee-to-green play, but he struggled early and often around the greens.
He bogeyed No. 15 after a poor chip to 12 feet, missed a 5-footer at the 16th hole for birdie and bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes after more poor chips.
“I hit some bad pitches,” said Woods, who hit 10 of 18 greens in regulation, nine of 14 fairways and needed 31 putts. “Those are the ones I should get up and down and I didn’t.”
Barry Svrluga does a nice job capturing the scene at Congressional and the big picture take on Tiger's return:
But there is little doubt that the uneven, 3-over-par 74 he shot in the first round of the Quicken Loans National meant something more to golf as a sport than the occasional chunked chip shot or wayward iron — both of which Woods hit Thursday. On a global sporting scale, the PGA Tour stop in Bethesda this week is cast against everything from the World Cup to Wimbledon. Without Woods, it drowns. With him, it at least competes.
**Steve DiMeglio noted the short game rustiness and Tiger's surprise.
What wasn't good was his short game. He needed 31 putts and left chips short, like the one on No. 2, and long, like the one on No. 17. He left a birdie putt 18 feet short on No. 11, a par putt 15 feet short on No. 10. His short game left Woods as surprised as much as he was disappointed.
"Because that's all I've been doing is chipping and putting," said Woods, who began those disciplines of his game April 20 and didn't start hitting full shots until two weeks ago.
Even though it was a Tiger return from a layoff, typical for a Thursday, the gallery was subdued notes Helen Ross.
The gallery was somewhat subdued but supportive of Woods and his playing partners. Three fans wore orange t-shirts with the words "He's Back" across the chest. After his sixth bogey, a fan yelled out encouragement: "Keep trying, Tiger, keep trying." And the cheers racketed up considerably when he starting hitting it close on the back nine.
Matthew Rudy talks to instructor Jason Birnbaum, who sees some big changes in Tiger's backswing (video is included to support):
Woods' swing has changed noticeably from its pre-surgery form. How much of it is a part of larger rebuild with teacher Sean Foley vs. early caution is still an open question. We asked a top teacher to weigh in on what he saw Thursday.
"There's no doubt he and Sean are working on things that you can't see with the naked eye, and I'm sure they have a plan for what they want to do," says Jason Birnbaum, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, "But his swing is obviously shorter. He used to have a full backswing, just short of parallel, with some softness in his left arm. Now, he's short and extremely wide."
