First the positives… In his first competitive tournament after nearly 16 months recovering from multiple back surgeries, Tiger Woods scored more birdies than any other player in the field. Okay, there were only 17 players at the end of the invitational Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, but his 24 birdies were two more than the tally of eventual champion Hideki Matsuyama (who also carded two eagles).
Woods showed he could still thump the ball off the tee, outdriving all three colleagues he played alongside at Albany. He also provided the galleries with plenty of other highlights, from lengthy birdie or par-saving putts to holing out from the sand. As the PGA Tour website report noted, “We had club twirls and fist pumps. We had Sunday red. Love him or not, Woods brought a huge buzz with him for the sport.”
And the negatives? The winner of 79 PGA Tour titles and 14-time major champion also carded six double bogeys and eight bogeys over his four rounds, closing with a 4-over 76 and finishing 15th.
“Getting back to this point is beyond anything that I've ever experienced in my lifetime,” Woods said later. “The pain issues that I had, it was rough. To battle back, to battle through it, to have the friends I've had who have supported me, helped me through it. Quite frankly there were some pretty dire times where I just couldn't move.
“Big picture? It feels good. It feels good to be back out here playing again, competing and trying to beat the best players in the world. I missed it. I love it. I've been doing it for a very long time and this stretch where I've been off for almost a year and a half has been rough and the last few years have been rough.”
