Day in the life of Tiger
JASON Day remembers the Tiger Woods club twirl.
It was the mid 2000s and the 14-time major champion was in the throes of a period of such domination most events were over as soon as he arrived.
“I think my rookie year (on the PGA Tour) was 2008 … I remember watching him win. I told him about this at Bay Hill,” Day recalled as he took his turn dealing with the abundant questions about “Tigermania”.
“I remember he was so confident with his game and with himself that he would hit a shot – he was at the Buick Invitational, I think it was in Flint, Michigan – and he would hit iron shots, and he didn’t even need to look at them.
“He would just do the club twirl and start walking and (the ball would land) five feet from the pin. And he shot 24under that year, and he won by like seven.”
Memories of that greatness, of a player who was No.1 in the world for a combined total of 683 weeks – that’s more than 13 years – from the time he was 21, have been in abundance at Augusta ahead of the US Masters, which started today.
Tiger is back on hallowed ground, and not just as a dinner guest, but as a contender – aged 42, with four back surgeries under his belt, and as a different person.
There’s no club twirling any more, and not because Woods is not as sure of where his ball is going every time.
The 2018 version of Woods is still confident, he still has his aura of amazingness, and he has everyone Jordan Spieth ......... $11 Rory McIlroy ........... $11
5am ... Fox 506, 9Gem talking – about fearing what he could do, about having to beat him.
But this time around after a world of hurt, both physical and emotional, conspired to send the king tumbling from his throne, Woods is more courteous than curt, more solemn than sully, more human than untouchable golfing god.
“Well, it’s been a tough road,” Woods said.