The Return of Tiger Woods

I managed to catch some of day 1 of the Masters. I was curious to see how Tiger did in his comeback. I only caught his back 9, I never checked for what time he was starting.

My 1st observation was his drives were ending up like mine tend to. I can hit the ball in the woods too. However, his recovery shots are a lot better than mine are. He didn’t look like his usual dominant self, but -1 after over a year away with the pressure of the crowd is better than I expected him to do.

His putting looked a little off, but that seemed to be a theme for a few players. The one chip shot was kind of ugly, completely over hit, but again, it is something I do all the time. Don’t get me wrong, we compare his score yesterday, to the best I ever shot, ignoring that he is hitting off the pro tee and I’m hitting off the whites, he still beat me by 17. Watching top tier players struggle a bit, miss fairways and all makes me feel better about my game, and more relatable.

The announcers went on and on about his body holding up. They spoke about the walk affecting him. I didn’t see him grimacing in pain or anything. He was walking fine. I would think he got top tier medical care and rehab, so I think he is physically up to it, barring a bad swing taking him down.

So what do I think of his prospects. If day 1 was shaking off the rust, the top of the leader board is in trouble. If his putter gets hot, we might get a big Tiger run on Sunday. I know people either love or hate Tiger, but I think it would be good for golf. A Sunday Tiger run will generate interest on both sides, especially if he is paired with who he is going against for the win.

By Sebastian Wyczawski