Tiger Appears At Hoylake, Press Is Ready!

Probably thinking he could get some quiet practice in Saturday at Hoylake without writers on hand to ask questions, Tiger appeared a day earlier than he had in recent years for The Open. Didn't fool some scribes!

The first reps are in, Patrick Reed was his playing partner and Tiger says he's feeling good.

Bob Harig writes:

And he was pleased that you'd be hard-pressed to see any pain or discomfort as he played the course.

"I'm not favoring anything," Woods said. "The little baby steps worked. We were very diligent about what I was doing. Going into it we pushed it pretty hard to get my abs and glutes strong so when I did come back I was able to rebound fast. I can do whatever I want. I'm at that point now. We didn't think we'd get to that point until this tournament or the week after."

Steve DiMeglio on the quiet before the mild storm that was Tiger's appearance.

"Growing," Woods said when asked about his confidence concerning his game. "Congressional was big for me, the fact I could go out there and play and I got better as the days went on. It was a little bit eerie and iffy if that was going to happen or not, especially with how hard I was hitting the ball.

James Corrigan responds to the recent jabs at Woods by Paul Azinger, Curtis Strange and Hank Haney, while also giving us a report on Hoylake for next week.

From Corrigan's story:

If people such as Strange are eager to write off Woods, they should definitely not do likewise with Hoylake. In truth, it was too bouncy in 2006 and this week should give a more genuine examination of its strengths and weaknesses. Whatever their hue, Craig Gilholm, the shrewd greenkeeper, still believes there will be some fire in the fairways and the forecast is for good weather, if not quite the ice cream heatwave of eight years ago.

Nick Faldo elaborated in this Sky report on why he didn't understand Tiger's run-up to Hoylake:

"But it is just amazing he's only played two rounds of golf since March and he's the favourite. That's just incredible.

"But then if he comes with the right game plan we will see, and it's as simple as that.

"However, it's a tough game to play when you are rusty and that's why I came here to Royal Aberdeen as every day you learn and pick something up.

"At present, Tiger's short on everything and it seems strange as he had a chance to play in the Greenbrier Classic which would have been good for him or he could have come here to the Scottish Open as a late entrant.

"So given he was looking for competitive practice, why Tiger just didn't tee it up last week or this I can't say.

Tiger's currently anywhere from 12-1 to 20-1 depending on which venerable wagering institution you prefer. Even at that price, my Tiger budget this year may be going to a missed cut bet, sadly. Just a wee one, in case the price is right.