Tiger coming back, fellow players impressed by his play
All eyes are on Tiger Woods and his return to golf, even the players he has to beat. Especially the players.
Woods was on the back end of the practice range Monday at Albany Golf Club, hitting balls with Patrick Reed, when he looked up at a drone buzzing some 50 feet over him in the cloudy sky. He had no idea that Daniel Berger was at the controls.
Berger was on the front of the range, blocked by a row of bushes in the sand dunes. As the drone’s camera zoomed in, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Kisner and their caddies crowded around Berger to look.
They cared more about his reaction to the drone than his swing.
But they are curious about his game.
And those who have played with Woods in recent weeks believe there is reason for the hype.
“People are going to be shocked at how good his game looks,” PGA champion Justin Thomas said.
Thomas will have the best seat in the house Thursday when Woods, who had fusion surgery on his lower back in April, plays for the first time in 10 months at the Hero World Challenge. Thomas, named the PGA Tour player of the year after winning five times and the FedEx Cup, is paired with him in the first round.
Thomas spends a fair bit of time with Woods at their Florida homes, and they played a few weeks ago.
It was only last year when Woods returned after 15 months away from the game, but what appears to be different this time, at least from those who have played with him, is the absence of pain.
Patrick Reed played nine holes of practice with him Monday morning. He saw Woods do whatever he wanted with his swing and saw an assortment of shots — a stinger off the tee, a low draw, a high cut.
“It looked like there was a little hesitation the last time I played with him,” Reed said. “This time, he was fully committed and fully trusted in his body. There was no pain. That’s the biggest thing for me. If he stays healthy, then he’ll be back playing golf, hopefully like he used to. I want to see it and I want to compete against it.”