Roundup: Tiger's 24-Birdie, Final Round 76-Shooting Week Back

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As we noted today on Morning Drive in assessing the reation to Tiger's week, the views on his return seem to be split between respectful empathy celebrating the obvious positives, to continued apathy over an imperfect performance. But how could any golfer expect perfection after surgeries, yips and even signs of stage fright?

Both Doug Ferguson and Steve DiMeglio worked the red shirt into their ledes and then assessed.

Ferguson for the AP:

Woods showed no stress in his swing or in walking five straight rounds, starting with the pro-am. He had plenty of length, at times going after his driver with a little more pop to clear a bunker. He holed a few long putts . He missed a few short ones. At times, he looked like he had never been away for that long.

And at times it did.

After a lede with Rickie Fowler celebrating the return of the red shirt, DiMeglio for USA Today in nearly identical words to Ferguson's:

His return to competitive golf after an absence of nearly 16 months — which included two surgeries to his troublesome back — was a success on nearly all counts as the positives far outweighed the negatives. This despite the final-round 76 and the final-hole double bogey as he finished 15th in the elite 17-man field, 14 shots behind Hideki Matsuyama, who won at 18 under and was two clear of Henrik Stenson. It was Matsuyama’s fourth victory in five starts and he was a staggering 90 under during that stretch.

Bob Harig for ESPN.com offered a measured tone in an overall positive take that also included assessments from Tiger's last two instructors pre-Chris Como:

"I really like how much longer his backswing is -- especially with the driver,'' said Sean Foley, Woods' former coach. "I like that his lower body and pelvis are moving more. The movement is not restricted; it is much more free. He looks great.''

Another former coach, Haney Haney, said: "The swing is smooth; there are no apparent issues.''

Golf World's Jaime Diaz offered this:

Most of all, there was a palpable and overdue ease to his game. Woods looked leaner, which seemed to aid in more swinging of the clubhead and less straining of the body. Along with his speed, he had rhythm and flow and balance. Technically, his stance was narrower, posture taller, hip turn bigger and his once rigid left leg softer through impact. There seemed to be less thinking over the ball, and more of a subconscious freedom.

Jeff Babineau in Golfweek's on-site assessment was broken into five areas of interest related to Woods' game:

But he showed he has plenty of game. Sure, four rounds isn’t very much to go on. But with more chances to compete and if he can get back to some semblance of a normal schedule, Woods should be able not only to contend again, but win again.

Definitely.

Mark Cannizzaro in the New York Post:

Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, had a modest goal for his man for the week.

“I thought it was good, a lot of positives,’’ LaCava said. “He’s upright, No. 1. Seriously. You laugh, but I think that’s good. I love the fact that he was hitting a lot of shots that he was kind of picturing in his mind. There were a few loose ones, obviously, but he hit plenty of good shots, plenty of good things to take away from it. And he made some putts.

“The fact that’s he’s making birdies is a good sign. I wasn’t going to compare him to the rest of the field. It’s a great field, they’ve been playing all year and they’ve all been playing great.

Michael Bamberger writing for Golf.com:

No player made more birdies than Woods over the four rounds -- he had 24 of them -- and nobody had more double bogeys than Woods, who had six, half of them on the par-4 18th. Woods's has been the greatest closer in golf history, but those three doubles suggest a certain mental frailty.
That's golf. You can say whatever you want to yourself and to reporters and to your caddie but the little boxes on a scorecard leave no room for self-talk.

Gary Koch broke down Tiger's swing on the broadcast and it's worth a look.

From the detractor side, Brandel Chamblee on Golf Central (16 minute mark) didn't see an improvement in the swing or chip yips Woods has suffered.