Woods seems refreshed, healthy before return With a new caddie, a new sponsor, a rested body and renewed hope, Tiger Woods returns to tournament golf Thursday, teeing off in the Frys.com Open, his first event since the PGA Championship eight weeks ago.
Fall Series tournaments are usually reserved for players scrambling for spots on the tour the following year. But for 14-time major champion Woods, it’s a chance to revive a career in free fall as questions swirl about his health, his head and his ever-evolving (some say devolving) swing.
“This is different. This time I’ve had a chance to prepare,” Woods said at a news conference in San Martin, Calif. “I’ve got my strength back. All the explosiveness is back in the [left] leg.”
– Kevin Dunleavy
| Five to watch |
| Paul Casey |
| A golfer with turf toe? Yes, that’s the affliction that has kept the Englishman off the course for six weeks and has contributed to his progressively dismal 2011. He has three top-20 finishes this year, all before the Masters. |
| Rocco Mediate |
| He was ranked 182nd on the money list and hadn’t won in eight years when he capture the 2010 Frys.com, thanks in large part to holing out four wedge shots — one in each round — from more than 100 yards out. He does not have a top-30 finish this year. |
| Patrick Cantlay |
| The UCLA sophomore will play with Tiger Woods on Thursday and Friday. It will be interesting to see whether there are lingering effects from his rough U.S. Amateur finals as he pursues his fifth straight top-25 finish on the PGA Tour. |
| Ernie Els |
| He stayed alive in the FedEx Cup playoffs by finishing tied for 32nd at the Barclays and tied for 16th at the Deutsche Bank. Els has not played in a Fall Series event since the circuit was established in 2007. The South African seeks his first top-10 finish of 2011. |
| Kevin Na |
| After a history of final-round flameouts, the 28-year-old won for the first time on tour last week at the Justin Timberlake event. In his first Frys.com (2006) and after 77 PGA events, Na broke 70 in all four rounds for the first time in his career. |
A season that began with great promise, heightened by a stirring run at the Masters, quickly fishtailed as Woods limped off the course at the Players Championship in May after shooting a 42 for nine holes. In six PGA Tour rounds since, Woods has broken par once.
“I hadn’t gotten the reps in,” Woods said. “But now I’ve done that, so that’s good.”
With an appearance in the President’s Cup approaching next month, Woods seeks his previous form. On Friday at the Medalist Club near his home in Florida, Woods shot a 62 on the 7,156-yard, Greg Norman-designed course on Hobe Sound.
“That was fun to actually post a 62,” Woods said. “It was a pretty easy round.”
Since missing the cut at the PGA by six strokes and failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, Woods has worked hard in Florida to fix his swing, according to coach Sean Foley. The two have shifted their focus from mechanics to posture, ball positioning, transition and rhythm. The change is a product of Woods’ improved health, Foley said.
“We almost had to be more technical in the past because we couldn’t get the rep count in,” Foley said on the Golf Channel. “He had to be thinking a lot of things. That’s not what you want to be doing.”
Woods announced Wednesday he has a new deal with Rolex, reversing a trend toward losing sponsorship deals.
He also has enlisted the services of one of golf’s most highly regarded caddies. Joe LaCava — formerly on the bag of Fred Couples and most recently Dustin Johnson — takes over.
“I’ve known him a very long time and had a very nice comfort level,” Woods said. “I liked his personality, how he was with his players, how he would step in when need be and he knew when to step out.”
Woods hasn’t won a tournament since the Australian Masters in November 2009, but he is the Frys.com favorite at 5-1, according to Ladbrokes.com. No other player is listed at better than 20-1.
In addition to boosting betting interest, Woods has sparked ticket sales. Last year the Frys.com drew 30,000. According to tournament director Ian Knight, more than 70,000 are expected this year, with sellouts projected on the weekend.
That’s assuming, of course, that Woods makes the cut.
“I’m excited. I’ve been playing a lot of holes,” Woods said. “Got my instincts back. It feels good.”
