Day ‘obsessed’ with new swing, leads Wells Fargo

Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell are the latest players on the LIV tour to have sponsors back away from them as Mastercard said it is pausing its endorsement deals with the two.

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ALBANY, Bahamas – The strut was back – the back was fine – and Tiger Woods showed enough glimpses of form to suggest he just might make a highly successful comeback to competitive golf. Out of the game for 10 months after a fourth back surgery, Woods made a solid return at the Hero World Challenge after an opening 3-under 69 left him just three shots off the lead. While he was far from perfect and there was some rust, there was also plenty to be impressed by. Woods himself even entertained ideas of winning the tournament. But hold up … Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ve been down this road before. Just a year ago, the two-time FedExCup champion showed glimpses of brilliance in his four rounds at Albany but ultimately finished near the back of the pack. And then a couple of months later, he was out of action again. But hey, this time felt different. It really did. Here’s a list of the things Woods did well and the things he needs to work on. BEST OF 1. Driving: Woods hit 7 of 13 fairways, which might not sound great, but was, in fact, a pretty good display off the tee. Coming off four back surgeries, including fusion surgery this year, it would stand to reason he might not be able to take a big rip at his driver. But Woods did in fact wind up and put the ball past reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas a handful of times. Most of his drives that missed the mark were by fractions, except on the 15th hole where he lost one right into an unplayable lie. The signs here were certainly encouraging. 2. Putting: You could forgive Woods for being rusty with the flat stick in a competitive environment but he wasn’t. He looked like he’d been playing half a season. He made a handful of crucial par putts of nervous length as well as some nice rolls for birdies. Once again, it was far from perfect, but it was impressive for someone who’s not had to putt under pressure for a long time. Eight one-putts, 28 total putts. That’s pretty decent after a long layoff. 3. Laser 2-iron: Do yourself a favor and watch Woods approach shot to the par-5 third hole with his 2-iron. He had 260 yards to the pin into the wind and just blistered the ball onto the green to set up a long eagle chance. Watching Woods walk after it after contact brought back all the old feels. As did the “be goodâ€� quote as it flew. “I just hit it on a rope, put it up there on the green. I knew I was back playing again,â€� Woods said. 4. Learning on the run: Woods came into the event struggling to nail down his yardages with his clubs. In practice rounds with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, he was constantly asking for assistance on yardages now that he can send the ball out there a bit further. On occasion Thursday he was a little lost, but seemed to figure it out as the day went on. He almost holed out a wedge late in his round. “I had to dial it back a little bit with my clubs, take it a little bit further because obviously I was a little jacked up,â€� Woods said. “The shot that I hit over there at 14 was pretty sweet, a little 95‑yard pitching wedge. If I would have had that same shot early in the round, I couldn’t have played it because I hadn’t figured out how to dial it back yet.â€� 5. Bouncing back: After Woods bogeyed the ninth, he birdied the 10th. After he bogeyed the 15th, he gave himself a great look for birdie on the 16th. A year ago, he made plenty of birdies, just as many as the winner, but he also had multiple mistakes that derailed his rounds. On Thursday, he failed to give up. “Last year, I was rolling in, got to nine or 10 and made a couple mistakes and the round slipped away. I was not going to let that happen this year,â€� he said. “I got tired last year. This year obviously with my back better, my training sessions have been much better, my strength is up and I didn’t feel tired at all, which is great.â€� WORST 1. Chipping: If Woods is to return to his competitive best, he will need to get better from tight lies around the greens. A stubby chip on the par-4 third hole was rescued by a long putt, but another on the par-5 ninth was not, bringing Woods his first bogey of the day. He had a few other short ones with the wedge not come out exactly as he would have liked. “It’s frustrating because I have a hard time with this into‑the‑grain, ball sitting down (type shots),â€� Woods said. “I’m used to using the bounce and hitting behind it a little bit and getting it up, but it’s so sticky that it’s really hard to do. I haven’t quite figured it out yet.â€� 2. Par-5 performance: There are five par 5s at Albany – a virtual smorgasbord for pros. But for Woods, they turned out to be his undoing on Thursday. Woods birdied the first of them, but then bogeyed two others to play them 1 over. Far from ideal. On the plus side, if he turns that around on Friday, he could find himself posting a very low number. “I was in position to really get something close to 5-, 6-, 7-under par today, but I made a couple mistakes on those par 5s,â€� Woods said. “If I take away the two 6s and play the round correctly, then I’m probably tied for the lead. So it’s just little things like that I need to clean up and hopefully I can do that tomorrow.â€�2.  Woods returns in round two starting in a tie for eighth. He will play with Henrik Stenson at 11:43 a.m. Eastern. Check out PGATOUR.COM for our live blog. 

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Paul Azinger will become NBC Sports’ lead golf analyst in 2019, following Johnny Miller’s retirement at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jan. 31-Feb. 3). Azinger won 12 times on the PGA TOUR, including the 1992 TOUR Championship and 1993 PGA Championship. He also was captain of the 2008 Ryder Cup team. He has enjoyed a lengthy broadcasting career since retiring as a player, serving as the lead golf analyst for ABC and ESPN from 2006-2015. He joined Fox Sports’ broadcast of USGA championships in 2016 and will continue to serve in that role. “I have great admiration for both the quality of NBC Sports’ coverage and commitment to great storytelling, as well as the network’s deep commitment to the game I love,� Azinger said. “It is a great honor to cover a tremendous slate of PGA TOUR and marquee events, including THE PLAYERS, The Open, Ryder Cup and Tokyo Olympics. Additional opportunities to contribute to instructional and historical projects, as well as Golf Channel’s top-notch news platforms, makes this the role of a lifetime.� Following his breakthrough major championship victory at the PGA Championship at Inverness, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After battling the disease for months with intensive chemotherapy and radiation, he was able to return to golf and received the Golf Writers Association of America Ben Hogan Award in 1995, which recognizes a professional golfer who remains active in the sport despite serious illness or physical handicap. Azinger’s comeback was fully realized in 2000, when at the age of forty, he won the Sony Open in Hawaii. Additionally, Azinger will contribute to Golf Channel’s portfolio of platforms, ranging from Golf Central’s Live From the Masters alongside former colleague Mike Tirico; develop instructional content for both on-air and via Revolution Golf; and develop documentary projects for Golf Channel’s Emmy-nominated and critically-acclaimed Golf Films. Azinger’s NBC Sports schedule in 2019, which will regularly include all four days of tournament coverage on Golf Channel and NBC, will kick off at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (Feb. 21-24). NBC Sports will allow Azinger to continue to call The Masters for the BBC, as well as the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open on FOX. “Paul is one of the most perceptive minds in golf,� said Tommy Roy, lead golf producer, NBC Sports. “His innate ability to dissect the action in front of him and convey it to the viewer in such a concise, assured manner is what we value most across our tournament broadcast team.�

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