Tiger's First Official Round Back: Fades To 76

The crisp ball-striking evident in Tiger's pro-am round did not show up Thursday. The follow-throughs looked a bit less natural compared to the back nine pro-am shots I saw Wednesday. Even the club slam on five looked ragged (reps!). It all suggests what few want to accept: an athlete who has been through too many back surgeries will have days that are better than others as he mounts his most daunting career comeback yet.

Given that Torrey Pines is wet, the weather cool and the pace slow, it was easy to see how he never gained much momentum during a Farmers Insurance Open first round 76.

Yes, a round ten shots worse than Adam Hadwin's South Course low 66 may look dreadful for a legend who has dominated at Torrey South, but Tiger's first official round back produced enough highlights and crowd buzz to hopefully buy some patience for the 41-year-old.

Tiger, however, was positive after the round, sensing he fought, notes John Strege at GolfDigest.com:

“I fought my tail off out there,” he said. “I fought hard. It was nice to put together a round when I wasn’t hitting it that great early."

The South Course can’t be played effectively from the rough in the aftermath of a series of storms and an unusually wet winter that have left it gnarly. Woods, who hit only four of 14 fairways, demonstrably proved that. He hit only nine of 18 greens in regulation.

Torrey South was a step up in offering a challenge, notes Bob Harig at ESPN.com.

His eight victories here came with him in top form. At 7,600 yards and playing longer due to wet conditions, it is a stern test for those in good form. It was also cool, causing Woods to go from a sweater vest to a sweater as the round progressed.

It didn't help that the round took 5 hours and 20 minutes; No. 1-ranked Jason Day shot 73 and No. 3 Dustin Johnson had 72 playing with Woods.

Tiger Tracker, an emerging GolfChannel.com talent, felt the round could have been worse if not for Tiger's excellent front nine scrambling. And his random observations from the round are quite fun.

Tiger drilled a fan off the 13th tee. Like, smoked him. Left a mark on the kid’s neck. Surprised I couldn’t see the Bridgestone logo. The kid stood behind the ropes, greedily rubbing his hands together, expecting a signed goodie. Only problem: He never spoke up. Tiger didn’t know. At least he got to take an illegal photograph of Tiger hitting his second shot.

Ryan Lavner for GolfChannel.com:

And, no, not entirely unexpected. Woods has played only four competitive rounds in the past 522 days. Torrey’s South Course was the second-hardest on Tour last year. Should we have anticipated anything different?

“Joey [LaCava] kept telling me all day today, ‘Just be patient with it,’” Woods said of his caddie. “I didn’t quite smile at him a few of those times he said that. But I was fighting out there trying to get my ball around the golf course and score.”

Jeff Babineau summed the round up this way for Golfweek.com:

On a long and difficult course, Tiger Woods simply got the icy reminder that golf doles to so many of us. This can be a cold, difficult and maddening game. He beat only 19 players in the field.
He’ll be back for more tomorrow, and from here, it will only get better.

Tiger finished things off with a birdie, at least: