TIGER TAKES SHELTER TO WORK ON HIS DRIVING
TORRENTIAL Florida rain greeted Tiger Woods’s return to the limelight yesterday as he took part in a charity match alongside his old adversary, Phil Mickelson. Dressed in his usual Sunday red, Woods looked fit and healthy as he arrived at his home club, the Medalist, near West Palm Beach. It was the first time he had been seen on a golf course since the Genesis Invitational in mid-February. After shooting a final-round 77, he complained of a sore back and duly pulled out of two Florida events before the lockdown in March. ‘How I feel now is like night and day to how I felt then,’ he said, although his mood must have been dampened by the weather. The entire course looked under water by the start, with a nonetoo-clever forecast for the rest of the day, with the players scheduled to get underway at 8pm last night Ireland time.
The last time Woods and Mickelson met each other in a made for TV match, it was tawdry even by the standards of host city Las Vegas. Mickelson played rubbish and still walked away with $9million. Now, there was $10m on the line but all of it going to various Covid-19 relief charities. This time, they have a pair of playing partners every bit as famous as themselves. In Tiger’s corner was superstar NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, while Tom Brady, winner of a record six Super Bowls, was with Mickelson. The format is nine holes of fourballs followed by nine holes of greensomes (alternate shots after the drive). All four were due to play one hole using only one club. So, a fun day in prospect, with the scheduled return of the PGA Tour less than three weeks away.