Is Tiger Woods back? He talks a good game, but we'll see if he can compete
There’s only one person on Earth who can make a golf tournament in December seem worthwhile. At the moment, that person is ranked 898th in the world. He hasn’t hit a competitive shot in 15 months. He might be terrible. He might be good. He might be great, although that’s highly unlikely. Therein lies the mystery that creates the intrigue.
Tiger Woods is coming back, again, because that’s what Tiger does. He gets injured. He goes away. Then he returns. The longer he is away, the more interesting he gets, which makes this comeback the most fascinating of all.
The Hero World Challenge is an unofficial PGA Tour event hosted by Tiger played in the Bahamas with an 18-man field and no cut. It sounds like it’s not even real. To most of us, it exists solely to chart Tiger’s progress.
A year ago, he showed up after two back surgeries to glumly say he was so far removed from the game he once dominated that there was no timetable for his return: “There’s nothing to look forward to.”
That got everyone’s attention.
Tiger popped up again in May in suburban Washington, D.C., which was the last time he hit a public golf shot in front of a crowd. He hit three of them, actually, each from 102 yards away. All three went into the water.
RELIVE IT: Tiger drops three in the water
That definitely got everyone’s attention.
Now here he is this week, nearly 41, having been gone almost as long as the length of the presidential campaign.
“I’m sitting here in front of you guys with a different reality because things have improved so much,” Woods said, comparing last year with this year.
“I'm going to try to do the same thing I always do,” he said. “I'm entered in an event, I'm going to try to win this thing. I know Bubba (Watson) went low, shot 25 under. That's going to be a tall order. I haven't played in a while. Shooting 25 under is going to be a little hard, but hey, I'm going to give it my best.”
Rejuvenated Tiger Woods is back: 'I'm going to try to win this thing'
This is the point in the news conference where you roll your eyes and can’t believe Tiger is talking about actually winning a golf tournament, even a silly one like this, which has no players ranked worse than 38th, other than the host.
“I'm going to be focused,” he said, “I'm going to do what I can do and put the ball in the correct spots, give myself looks and try to bury these putts, post scores and get myself in that mix come Sunday afternoon.”
Oh, Tiger.
But then the Tiger of old turned into the old Tiger, and it was refreshing.
“I know that's a tall order since I've been away from the game for so long and I've made a lot of different changes in my game, but the mindset's still the same. That is to go out there and try to beat these guys.”
Humility will never be a personality trait of Tiger’s, but realism sounds like it might stand a chance.
On Monday, Tiger played a practice round with Derek Jeter, who played his first full season in the majors in 1996, the same year that Tiger turned pro and Kobe Bryant joined the NBA.
“To see those guys, in those various sports, if you lose a little bit, you’re going to probably be replaced," Tiger said. "But in golf, I can play a different way and get away with it.”
He no longer hits the ball as far as the longest drivers in the game. But he appears to have come to terms with that, mentioning the success of 46-year-old tactician Jim Furyk, who shot a 58 in August.
“So it’s possible,” Woods said. “I’m just going to have to find different ways of doing it.”
Tiger Woods' request to son Charlie: Don't touch these putters
We all want a definitive answer: Is he going to play well again? Win a tournament someday? The Masters, maybe? Or is he done?
That answer won’t come this week. It might not come for another five years. Golfers rarely retire. Interesting, isn’t it, that Tiger, Jeter and Kobe all arrived the same year. Only one of them is still playing.
PHOTOS: Tiger's victories
