Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf with ‘squirrely’ 75, soreness

NASSAU, Bahamas — After the primary aggressive spherical of his newest comeback, Tiger Woods stated his surgically repaired proper foot and ankle held up properly over the opening 18 holes on the Hero World Problem on Thursday.

That does not imply the 15-time main champion wasn’t hurting.

“My leg, my again, my neck,” Woods stated when requested what was sore. “Simply from taking part in, hitting pictures and making an attempt to carry off pictures. It is simply totally different at sport pace, too. Recreation pace’s loads totally different than at-home pace.”

It most likely did not matter that Woods carded a 3-over 75 within the first spherical, which was good for 18th place out of 20 golfers, 8 pictures behind co-leaders Brian Harman and Tony Finau. Or that Woods was 4 over within the final 4 holes after he appeared to expire of fuel.

What most likely mattered, no less than for Woods, was that he was in a position to play a spherical of aggressive golf with out the excruciating ache he skilled on the Masters in April, when he was pressured to withdraw throughout the third spherical.

Woods, who turns 48 subsequent month, had subtalar fusion surgical procedure on his proper ankle two weeks after the Masters to deal with post-traumatic arthritis that was attributable to accidents suffered in a automobile wreck exterior Los Angeles in February 2021.

“I used to be going to need to have this ankle both changed or fused sooner or later,” Woods stated. “It simply wore out and I used to be coping with bone-on-bone for numerous months. I haven’t got to fret about that anymore.”

Enjoying in his first PGA Tour occasion in additional than seven months, Woods was rusty. He carded 5 bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-5 fifteenth, the simplest gap on the course. Woods hit solely six of 13 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation. He misplaced 2.09 strokes to the sector on strategy.

Woods stated he was by no means solely snug over the ball.

“The center a part of my spherical, it was an absence of dedication, and it type of carried into a number of the last holes,” Woods stated. “I did not commit over a number of the pictures. I used to be type of squirrely about whether or not I ought to hit this shot, this peak, this trajectory. The wind is puffing up, it isn’t, it is laying down. All of the belongings you usually take with no consideration with feels and changes, I had an absence of dedication on numerous totally different pictures.”

There have been some brilliant spots throughout the spherical. Woods crushed a 326-yard drive on his opening tee shot and had good membership pace. He made birdie putts of twenty-two ft on No. 3, 28 ft on No. 5, 48 ft on No. 11 and 4½ ft on No. 14. He was 1 underneath after 14 holes.

“I needed to compete, I needed to play,” Woods stated. “I felt like I used to be able to compete and play. I hit it strong a lot of the day. As I stated, I simply did not mentally do the issues I usually would do and I must do. I nonetheless hit it strong, however I hit it crooked. I’ve all the time had a knack of hitting the ball in the course of the face, however I must do a greater job the place I must hit it in my home windows.”

Woods may have three extra probabilities to do it this week. The Hero World Problem, an unofficial tour occasion, is a 72-hole event with no lower.