Woods looking back to his best, warns Faldo
American cards his best Riviera score in 15 years Fox wins maiden title at World Super 6 in Perth
Tiger Woods heads to Mexico this week on the mission to increase his ridiculous record of 18 wins in the World Golf Championships, with Sir Nick Faldo claiming he is returning to peak form.
“I think he is swinging it as well as I’ve ever seen him,” Faldo, the six-time major-winner said. “If his putting comes back, then it will definitely be a case of ‘look out’.”
Certainly, the impressive crowds at Riviera Country Club were on collective lookout for the 14-time major-winner here at the weatherdelayed Genesis Open and although fatigue eventually did for his challenge there were many positives.
There were fears he would miss the cut in this event for the second time in as many years, but instead, he actually reached the top five until tiredness struck as the conditions worsened and he trailed in with a 72 for a six-under total. Six three-putts hardly assisted his challenge.
Yet if his motion on the greens was awry then the fire in his competitive heart quite evidently still burns at its fiercest and never was this more apparent than his efforts simply to qualify for the final two rounds. On a chilly Saturday morning, Woods believed he had a 25-footer down the hill to make the cut. And yes, he holed it.
As it turned out, Woods could actually have two-putted and still scraped in, but he has always been all about the theatre, hasn’t he? To prove how seriously Woods is taking it, when asked what time he would set his alarm for his 6.45am start yesterday, he replied: “At about 2am to 3am – just to start the process.”
Of course, after three back operations and as a relatively old man at 43, Woods needs to ensure the body is flexible and to “activate the glutes”. Those Tiger cubs such as Justin Thomas and Rory Mcilroy enjoyed a “lie in” until about 4.15am.
Faldo has been struck by Woods’s zest to revisit his pomp. “The impressive thing has been that every week he has learned something and put it into effect at the next tournament,” the CBS analyst, said. “Look at last year. He was on a real fast learning curve and he started playing better and better each week. He got himself into contention and how he played under pressure was the best way to judge him. I was amazed.”
Woods made eyebrows disappear under visors yet again on the final day. He returned to complete his third round and parred the 17th and 18th for a 65, his second-best in tournament history at Riviera and his lowest here in 15 years.
As if to highlight Faldo’s point, Woods hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation and moved up from a tie for 52nd. And when he birdied three of his first seven holes in the final round, he was remarkably up to fifth place. The highlight was a holed bunker shot on the 16th (his seventh) which made him 10 under for 26 holes. “La La Land” was in its element.
But then, the charge stalled. Four bogeys in six holes consigned him to a one-over 72, but at least he finished in the top 20. “Yeah, I got tired and the energy dropped a little bit, and wind, cold – it was a war of attrition out there,” he said.
On the European Tour, Ryan Fox, the son of the legendary All Black fly-half Grant, won his first topflight title. The New Zealander made the most of an early reprieve to triumph at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 in Perth, Western Australia.
Fox defeated Spain’s Adrian Otaegui 3&2 in the final at Lake Karrinyup after previous narrow victories over Jazz Janewattananond, Kristoffer Reitan and Paul Dunne. Thailand’s Janewattananond missed from three feet to lose in the second round.
“I’ve been close a couple of times and it’s special to get one over the line,” Fox, who lost a play-off to Russell Knox in the Irish Open last year, said. “I’ve always liked matchplay. I grew up playing team sports, so you just get used to trying to beat someone.”