National Post (National Edition)
Don’t bet against more Tiger magic
Putting, neck are in order for Players
Tiger Woods’ only pain in the neck this week might be his putting. Or is it?
A day after arriving at The Players Championship and putting to bed worries of another prolonged absence, Woods also seemed intent on ending any discussion that his cold putter is an existential threat to his comeback. Meeting with the media after a nine-hole practice round, Woods was asked which concerns him more this week, his neck or his putting?
“Neither,” he said. “I feel good on both. The putting feels so much better as I feel better. That kind of goes hand in hand.”
The two-time Players champion returns to action this week after missing last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational with a neck strain. Woods is coming off back-toback tournaments with six three-putts, a first since 1997, raising concerns that the 14-time major champion is fighting Father Time on two fronts. Historically, golfers in their mid-40s don’t continue to putt at the same level they did in the 20s. But comparing Tiger to anyone other than Tiger often is a fool’s game.
From the “In Your Life!” chip at the Masters to the “Better Than Most!” putt on the island green 17 th here at the TPC Sawgrass, Woods always found the magic. So familiar with his heroics were we, that when he missed it caused us to double take. After enough misses, just when it seemed the magic was gone, it would return.
Same with his swing overhauls, which took him from ‘This can’t possibly work’ to world No. 1 on four separate occasions. Remember the chipping yips? We said he had them, he said he didn’t. We rolled our eyes, he showed up at the Masters a month later and proved the world wrong.
On Tuesday, Woods explained that some of the problems in his putting stemmed from the pain he was feeling in his neck.
“I had been feeling that my stroke has been off, but a lot of it is physically,” he said. “I’m having a hard time getting into the different postures. As my body’s felt better, my stroke has come back a little bit.”
Woods admitted his putter was a little off before the injury exacerbated the issue. It had become enough of a problem that Woods has brought a new coach onboard this week, something he was yet to do in this comeback. On Monday, Woods was spotted working with 33-year-old instructor Matt Killen, who works with several tour players including Justin Thomas and J.B. Holmes.
Woods and Thomas play practice rounds together, which has given Killen the opportunity to see plenty of Woods’ stroke.
“I wanted him to take a look at it and see what he thought of where my setup looked like now versus all the times that I’ve putted well,” Woods said. “And I’ve putted well with different postures throughout my career. I’ve done different things ... He mentioned a few things. As I’ve started to feel a little bit better this week or this past week, then the putting definitely freed up.”
When Woods is putting well he likes to feel the toe of the putter release through the ball, something he says is more reminiscent of Ben Crenshaw or Bobby Locke than many of the players on tour today.
Holmes, who uses a more straight back, straight through motion, says Killen is not driven by a certain putting philosophy which makes him a good fit for Woods.
“He’s very unique in that he kind of bends to everyb o d y ’s swing and goes around their body type and what works best for them,” Holmes said after a practice round on Tuesday. “Tiger’s obviously done extremely well with that putting stroke and if somebody were to try to change it, it’s not a good idea. He’ll just try to make what he’s done the best in the past and make that what he’s doing.”
Despite struggling on the greens, Woods hasn’t finished outside the top 15 in 2019. If he’s able to stay on the golf course, the putter seems to be the final piece of the puzzle for the 43-year-old. If golf history repeats itself, the magic could be gone. If Tiger history repeats itself, it will return. Make your bets.