DAY: IT MAY BE HAMMER TIME FOR WOODS
US OPEN Spieth can’t put finger on why his form dived EUAN McLEAN
BY EUAN McLEAN JASON DAY reckons Tiger Woods is set to MC Hammer the rest of the field again now he’s stopped responding to his text banter about his trousers.
The Australian sees his friend and boyhood hero steadily getting his game face back on the more he grows in belief that he’s ready to battle at the top once more.
That ice-cool exterior used to be the hallmark of Tiger when he ruled the fairways in his prime but more recently his injury woes have opened him up to his peers on PGA Tour.
Few have benefited more from that fresh perspective than Day – the guy who idolised Woods when he first came out on Tour and then considered himself privileged to become his pal.
But the more Tiger appears back on the prowl after his latest bout of back surgery breathed new life into his career, the more Day senses those old shutters coming up again in preparation for battle.
Day said: “I texted Tiger the other day. I sent him a picture at this event in 2004, and he had on what looked like, MC Hammer pants. He had pleats on them and everything. So I’m like ‘hey, look at these pants. They’re terrible.’
“And he didn’t text me back. Most of the time, he texts back. He’s all right.
“But since he has come back, you can see his killer instincts are starting to go more towards what they used to be.
“He’s not as aggressive as he used to be with regards to that.
“When I first came out on tour he was kind of still in his prime winning a lot of tournaments.
“He didn’t really talk to many people then. He just went straight through and did his job and went on to the next event.
“But I can see that there may be a sense of this is the last push that he needs for his career. I know he’s still hungry.
“He’s hungry for that next win and to be coming back and competing.
“But don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t changed that much. He was on the putting green this morning and he was putting around my hole, and he was annoying me. He’s great.” JORDAN SPIETH insists his game is in even better shape than when he won The Open last year.
And he admits it confuses him because he has hardly contended all season.
The 2015 champion goes into tomorrow’s US Open frustrated with a poor run of results and a stone cold putting touch that doesn’t reflect how well he feels he has been playing.
Spieth said: “My patience has been tested.
“Technically, in the Masters I was up there as I finished third but I didn’t really have a chance.
“The limited number compared to previous years of chances I’ve had on the weekends has been frustrating.
“My game is in the best shape it has been in a long time, including last year.
“My results don’t necessarily speak towards that but I feel that way, so I’ll stick with the process.” THIS time last year Tiger Woods could barely move from his couch as the US Open show went on without its biggest star.
To be back playing on the big stage at all is a blessing he admits to fearing might never happen as he recovered from a fourth and last-ditch operation on his spine.
And to be at Shinnecock Hills feeling ready to contend for a comeback Major win – on the 10th year anniversary of his last one – is a fairytale prospect.
Woods said: “There was really no expectation or a thought I could actually be here again.
“I had only just got the okay to start walking again, start moving around. So it was about just having my standard of life.
“Forget golf. Can I actually participate in my kids’ lives again? That’s something I had missed for a few years and that was the main goal of it.
“Then it was a bonus to hear, ‘why don’t you go hit some putts today’. Really? I can putt? And then it was chips.
“So to go from there to where I’m at now, I had no expectation of getting this far. To be able to have this opportunity to play USGA events, to play against these guys, the best players in the world, it’s just a great feeling and one I don’t take for granted.”
If Woods was to win this week it would be a remarkable success story from a guy who is no stranger to producing something bordering on superhuman.
Like that last US Open win a decade ago at Torrey Pines when he played through the pain of a busted cruciate knee ligament and a stress fracture on his left leg to win an 18 hole play-off with Rocco Mediate.
Back then the at SHINNECOCK HILLS watching world would never have imagined his 14th Major success might prove to be his last as his personal life unravelled and his body gave way under the strain of sustaining such an explosive swing.
After a turbulent 10 years Woods is at last showing signs of regaining much of the power that made him such an unstoppable presence in his prime.
And even he admits he could never have imagined staring at a 10-year drought.
Woods said: “I would have thought I’d have been there on a number of occasions to win a Major since the 2008 US Open and I haven’t done it.
“I don’t like that feeling. I’ve had a nice run where I’ve won a few but unfortunately over the last 10 years, I haven’t.
“But the encouraging thing is since I came back this time I’ve given myself chances to win, which I didn’t know if I was ever going to do again. I’m not happy I didn’t win but I loved how it felt being in contention again.
“I was very excited to be back in the mix that Sunday at Valspar (tied second), I was right there with a chance. I felt very calm. I’ve been there so many times throughout my career it felt very familiar. But I’d like to get myself there more times. Therein lies the trick.
“It’s about three or three-anda-half days of really playing well to give myself a chance. So far this year, I’ve only given myself a few chances in the handful of tournaments I’ve played.
“Hopefully this is one of those weeks where I put it all together and even it out – and we’ll see what happens.”
Woods is not the only legend chasing a fairytale success with long-time rival – and friend – Phil Mickelson craving the last piece in the jigsaw to complete his career Grand Slam. Woods is one of just five members of that exclusive club who have lifted all four Major titles. But he feels for Mickelson, runner-up six times in this event. He added: “You would think this would be the one Phil would have had the least chance to win because of the way he’s driven it for most of his career. “But that short game of his is off the charts and a US Open is about wedging it. It really is. “He’s come so close. For him to be able to somehow pull it off at his age well, I don’t think it’s been done at that age. To complete the career Grand Slam would be an unbelievable accomplishment. “We’re both on the back end of our careers. We’ve been going at it 20-plus years. We’ve been ranked one and two and gone at it a lot throughout the years and developed a pretty good friendship because of it. You’re going to get to know someone pretty well and we’ve done that.”