Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Zalatoris hails ‘pretty amazing’ partner Tiger
TIGER Woods received a glowing review from playing partner Will Zalatoris after stepping up his preparations for the 88th Masters golf tournament at Augusta National.
Woods has played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.
The 48-year-old returned to action in December’s Hero World Challenge and finished 18th in the 20-man field, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.
Woods had also suffered a back spasm which led to a dreaded shank on the 18th hole in round one.
However, having made a recordequalling 23rd consecutive cut in last year’s Masters, Woods will no doubt be keen to at least own that record for himself this week and he certainly impressed Zalatoris in their nine holes of practice.
Asked if the prospect of Woods making a 24th straight cut “blew his mind”, Zalatoris said: “It’s just everything the guy has done.
“You could just sit there and analyse the same stats for his entire career and put him in five different buckets and every one of them is never going to be broken.
“He played great today. He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. So, you know, he looks great. He’s moving as well as he can be.
“With everything he’s gone through, it’s pretty amazing to see how good he’s swinging it.”
Meanwhile, Open champion Brian Harman believes his experience of handling a hostile Hoylake means he is better equipped to chase more major glory.
Harman was heckled by a minority of spectators at Royal Liverpool and even had one persistent offender ejected from the course before completing a comprehensive six-shot victory.
As a Georgia native and graduate of the state’s university, it will be a totally different story at Augusta National – although Harman insisted he would relish proving
his doubters wrong again as much as hearing cries of support for his alma mater’s Georgia Bulldogs.
“It seems like I do better when everyone’s rooting against me than rooting for me,” said Harman. “That’s a new challenge.
“Around Augusta there’s a lot of Dawgs out here, and you hear it all week, and it’s fantastic. So I’ll have to try to channel it. Maybe I’ll just pretend that they’re yelling mean things instead of nice things.
“After The Open I feel as though I’m more prepared to handle
whatever comes my way because at The Open and then the Ryder Cup, these pressure-packed situations, I’ve seen myself perform pretty well under that pressure.
“I live to feel those moments. Like, that’s like the drug for me. I want to get in contention in big golf tournaments. So my goal is to try and get to those uncomfortable places as many times as I can.
“I think it just unlocks something (in me), like proving people wrong, or just being your back against the wall.”