Tiger Woods is feeling pretty good after a 3-under 69 after a 10-month layoff.
Comeback after 4th back surgery yields a 69, buzz in event’s gallery
NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods looked a lot better in his return to golf than he did when he left the game.
Playing for the first time since his fourth back surgery, Woods returned from a 10-month layoff with a 3-under 69 on a breezy Thursday in the Bahamas that left him three strokes behind Tommy Fleetwood after the opening round of the Hero World Challenge.
“For me, I thought I did great,” Woods said with a smile.
And in a sign he was ready to get back in the mix, he was not satisfied.
Unlike a year ago, when Woods ended a 15-month hiatus because of his ailing back, he didn’t show any fatigue at the end of his round or make any big numbers.
His only regret was playing the par-5s at Albany Golf Club in 1 over par with two bogeys that stalled his momentum.
Coming off a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, Woods hit a 3-wood that rolled up on the green and then down a slope about 30 feet from the pin. It took him four shots from there, starting with a chip that didn’t reach the green and his first expletive loud enough for television to pick up.
After his best shot of the day — a pitching wedge he hit low from 95 yards that settled a foot behind the hole for birdie on No. 14 — he sent a drive well to the right into the native dunes. Woods had to take a penalty drop to get back in play and made a bogey.
But it was solid enough that Woods was far more interested in the leader board than the fact he felt strong physically.
“It was not only nice to get the first round out of the way, but also I’m only three shots out of the lead,” he said. “So to be able to put myself there after not playing for 10 months or so, it was nice to feel the adrenaline out there.”
He was tied for eighth in the 18-man field of this holiday exhibition that awards world ranking points but does not count as official on any tour. Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar were at 67; Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Kevin Chappell were at 68.
The buzz was back. Johnson noticed it when he was on the practice range and noticed a crowd around the putting green.
“Tiger must be there,” Johnson said. “Because there’s 40 people instead of four.”
Golf Channel added an hour of coverage, and Twitter came alive with people curious about the latest return.
This event doesn’t draw big crowds, but most of them were with Woods to see how he would fare in this latest comeback, this one from fusion surgery on his lower back April 20. Given it was his fourth surgery in three years, coupled with a DUI arrest in the summer that exposed the struggles Woods was having with pain medicine, a day like this seemed a long way off.
Woods said he appreciated the moment Thursday morning.
“I was in my head thanking all the people who have helped me in giving me a chance to come back and play this round again,” he said. “There were a lot of people who were instrumental in my life — friends, outside people I’ve never bet before, obviously my surgeon. I was very thankful.”
And he was as competitive as always. Woods delivered his first fist pump on the par-4 fourth hole when he scooped a chip that didn’t reach the green and then holed an 18-foot par putt.
The field is short, but the competition is strong at Albany. Woods realizes the others have spent the last couple of years playing at a high level that allows them to overcome a few mistakes.
Along with his five birdies — only two of them were tap-ins — Woods had an assortment of tough par saves, including a 10-footer that kept him dropping another shot on a par 5 at No. 11. He finished his round with a belly wedge from short of the 17th green because of mud on his ball, and holing a 6-foot par putt on the 18th.