FANS GRUMBLE BUT TIGER FINDS HIS FOCUS
HE gives with one hand and swipes away the ball with the other. Even with his selective hearing, Tiger Woods must have heard the grumbles among the cheers at the 18th yesterday. Until that point, he had been so amiable. He smiled, he hugged people and he played some brilliant shots. And after a lovely recovery from his only suspect stroke of the day, he even laughed with the gallery. It is the kind of behaviour expected on such occasions — in this case, the Champion Golfers’ Challenge, a four-hole team event where past champions play for charity and forget something serious is around the corner. It is no place for straight faces and even Woods, that man of very specific purposes, played ball. As the stellar name in Tom Weiskopf’s team, along with Mark O’Meara and Nick Price, Woods can be pleased with 13 of his 14 shots, though even his quality was not enough to take the prize. That went to Arnold Palmer’s team. Palmer, 85, who played the first hole and walked the rest, left the work to team-mates Darren Clarke, Paul Lawrie and Bill Rogers. Four teams tied on three-under but Palmer’s side denied Woods and Co — and claimed the £100,000 prize for charity — as they had the highest average age. Still, it was a good day for Woods — and for St Andrews where some hope can be restored to the main event after losing Rory McIlroy. Jordan Spieth might play like McIlroy but he is not remotely held in the same esteem as Woods. But hope is better than nothing and Woods’ game does look close to being in working order. His immaculate recovery shot at the second sent the gallery nuts. He then birdied the 17th and hit a perfect drive and approach at 18. The huge crowd got excited but Weiskopf holed his own birdie putt, meaning Woods had no need to do the same. So instead of giving fans what they wanted, he picked up. Single-minded focus. Perhaps Woods is back after all.