It’s a case of Reed my lips on Tigers fitness

ANY chance of a lid being kept on the hype surrounding Tiger Woods’s competitive comeback this week has been well and truly quashed by Patrick Reed’s breathless praise following the pair’s -practice round yesterday (Monday).

Woods and Reed played nine holes at the Albany course ahead of the Hero World Challenge, starting on Thursday, and Reed was clearly impressed with the 14-time major winner. Woods, 41, has not played in 10 months because a fourth back operation.

“Tiger is hitting a long way and hitting it effortlessly,” Reed said. “It’s a question of how is his body going to hang up. But it was good to see him hitting all the shots. There was no fear, no wincing. He looks healthy and that’s all I care about. He hasn’t lost the needle. He was giving it to me, -especially on the last when he -outdrove me by 60 yards.”

Since being given the green light to resume full practice six weeks ago, Woods has tried to measure his advancement by playing with Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, as well as world No 1 Dustin Johnson. And Reed’s progress report tallies perfectly with that of Brad Faxon, the former PGA Tour pro who played with Woods last Friday, alongside President Trump and Johnson. Faxon claimed Woods outdrove Johnson “half the time“.

If that was an eye-opening quote, then the fact Reed labelled Woods’s short-game as “very sharp” seems just as important, particularly in light of his own comments after his first trip around the layout in the Bahamas. Woods revealed that, as he tried to recover from the three surgeries he underwent in 2016, the putting and chipping greens became his enemy.

Woods insists he is “pain free“, but added a note of caution about his chances in a tough 18-man field. “I haven’t really competed in two years,” he said. “I’m looking forward to competing and finding the rhythm of tournament golf.”–– The Daily Telegraph