MIKE PURKEY
Tiger must have had it up to here with
all the hoo-ha over the Rorys and the
Rickies and all the rest of this so-called
new wave of talent who are grabbing all
the attention and, according to those
willing to crawl out on a flimsy limb, have
rendered Woods practically irrelevant.
That’s enough to make Tiger throw
away his crutches and walk, no, run all
the way from Windermere to Akron just
in time to be first off the tee at oh-dawn-
thirty for a practice round on Tuesday.
Which is precisely his plan because he is
entered in the WGC-Bridgestone Invita-
tional at Firestone Country Club.
It will be his first tournament since
smoothing it around in 42 for nine holes
before limping off TPC Sawgrass in the
middle of the first round at The Players
Championship in May. It wasn’t exactly a
ride into the sunset – more like a stag-
ger – but it was clear that his knee and
his Achilles’ tendon were still too painful,
even for Woods’ threshold, to make it all
the way around the golf course for even
one round.
So, he returned to seclusion in Florida
and made it perfectly unclear as to when
he might return. Even at his press confer-
ence at what used to be his tournament –
the AT&T National – he was frankly vague
about his condition and refused to talk
about a timetable.
In fact, the only thing he did say of any
consequence is that he’s only 35 and has
quite a few good years left.
Now he’s coming to Firestone, a place
where he has won seven times. One thing
you need to know about Tiger is that he
rarely plays anyplace he’s never won. And,
it’s a limited-field, no-cut tournament so
he’s guaranteed four rounds, if he’s physi-
cally able.
That was also the word out of the PGA
of America, which announced that Woods
would enter the PGA Championship at
Atlanta Athletic Club next week, that is, if
nothing bad happens in Akron.
playing a round of golf under tournament
conditions.
Is he ready to play?
No one knows,
perhaps not even Woods, and that’s a
problem. It has been reported that up
until the time of the announcement that
he would play at Firestone, he hasn’t been
hitting any balls or meeting with teacher
Sean Foley. While that’s awfully difficult to
believe, it’s still perfectly feasible that he
hasn’t prepared in the way that satisfies
him. Tiger is meticulous and rigid about
What would be a successful week? Frankly,
if he could play four rounds in tournament
conditions, regardless of score or outcome,
it would be regarded as a victory.
Which leads us all to believe that there
are more questions than answers as far
as Tiger is concerned. And we really
don’t know all the questions. But here are
a few:
Does this mean Tiger is back?
No, not
even close. We think it just means that
he’s tired of waiting, bored with sitting
around his mansion watching Kardashian
reruns while the major championship
clock is ticking. The fact that his prepa-
ration – what there was of it – did not
tell him that he couldn’t compete at The
Players is a disturbing sign. You think
he’d know if he were physically capable of
his preparation and you have to figure
that if he’s in any pain at all, he hasn’t hit
enough balls to suit him.
Other people think that Woods will have a
more permanent caddie by the PGA, but
finding someone to agree to take the bag
with Tiger prepared not to play the rest of
the year could be problematic.
Who’s his teacher?
For the record, it’s
Foley, but when they worked together for
a couple of days last week, it was the first
time they’ve seen each other in the 11
weeks since The Players. Some have said
that Woods should have cleaned house
when he let caddie Steve Williams go and
should have instructed Foley to not let the
door hit him on the way out. Some would
think that Tiger should be his own swing
coach, that he should just haul out the
DVDs of the year 2000, watch and repeat.
What would be a successful week
for Tiger?
Frankly, if he could play four
rounds in tournament conditions, regard-
less of score or outcome, it would be
regarded as a victory. But what about the
pain level? We already know how much
pain Woods can endure and still win a
tournament. But is he willing to do that
again?
While it’s big news that Woods is
coming back to competitive golf, there’s
every chance he can’t do this. Tiger is as
stubborn and willful as they come and he
might just be sick and tired of being sick
and tired.
While that will get you off the sofa,
willpower alone never won anyone a golf
tournament. Except for that one time at
Torrey Pines. But that was a different
time, another place. l
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