Tiger Wheels It Right Back At Honda, Meets Stoneman Douglas High Student Volunteer

Tiger's wheeling himself right back into the PGA National fray and as Dan Kilbridge reports for Golfweek, there wasn't much to this new normal to say in advance of a 7:45 am tee time with Patton Kizzire and Brandt Snedeker.

There was, however, what sounded to me like an admission that his fused back, while making him pain free, may be complicating his feel for certain shots.

“I can’t create the same angles I used to be able to create naturally,” Woods said. “Obviously I’m fused, so it’s a little bit different and I’m starting to learn what it feels like under the gun. Some of the shots I like to play, they’re not the same as they used to be and that part I’m going to have to learn. It’s not something that I’m used to because I’ve never felt like this, but this is the new norm.”

Tiger Tracker had some interesting observations on Tiger's Pro-Am round, which sounded similar to low-key approaches he took at Torrey Pines and Riviera, but with some stingers thrown in this time.

Kara Duffy of the local CBS affiliate detailed Tiger's impromptu meeting with Stoneman Douglas high student Kevin Shanahan, who is again volunteering at the tournament and who was introduced to Tiger by caddie Joe LaCava.

On Wednesday, the caddie for Tiger Woods got wind that Shanahan is a student there. Moments later, the golf great called him over during warm ups at the driving range, and what may have been a minor exchange in his mind, meant the world to Kevin.

“It was really a majority of me thanking him because I thought, ‘oh my God I’m getting this signed by Tiger Woods,’ but it really felt like he talked from the heart,” Shanahan said. “It didn’t feel scripted, it felt like it really came from him being sincere and saying, ‘I’m really sorry that you’re going through this,’ and it made me feel awesome!”

Last year’s Honda Classic winner Rickie Fowler also stopped for a photo with the teen.