Barracuda Championship, Round 1: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

Tiger Woods entered a new realm before returning to the place where he’s most familiar. Woods, who is scheduled to return to golf at the Hero World Challenge later this month, made his podcast debut with a 77-minute interview with University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma. Woods sandwiched the interview between a workout – “The endorphins are up,â€� he told Auriemma – and a 40-mile bike ride.  “I think I feel really good in the fact that my back’s not aching, my legs are starting to come back and my overall golf fitness is starting to come around,â€� said Woods, who had an anterior lumbar interbody fusion in April. “I’ve never had my back fused. It’s a different feeling. I’m a little bit tighter. I don’t have the pain. It’s a whole new realm for me. I don’t know if I’m going to loosen up or if this is the way I’m always going to be.â€� Later in the interview, he said that the surgery has helped his posture while addressing the golf ball. “Any time (before surgery) I tried to build a good posture over the golf ball, I would get pain down my leg and my right foot wouldn’t work,â€� he said. He’ll also be able to run soon, something he hasn’t done in five years because of his back problems. This is likely the longest recorded interview with Woods that’s ever been released. It was impossible to not learn something new from it. But in a forum that begged for him to open up in an unprecedented way, the listener was left without any significant insights or revelations that gave a deeper understanding of Woods. Some of that responsibility, of course, falls on the interviewer, and Auriemma didn’t seem interested in pushing his friend too far into unprecedented territory. Even so, it’s always enjoyable to listen to Woods talk about golf. He’s arguably the greatest golfer of all time, and an astute student of the game. The podcast was like prime-time television: entertaining, but not paradigm-shifting. Woods’ interview came in the second episode of “Holding Court with Geno Auriemmaâ€�. Basketball stars Kyrie Irving and Sue Bird headlined the show’s debut. Woods and Auriemma discussed the golf ball (Woods joined the chorus of voices calling for it to be rolled back) and influences in Woods’ life, as well as fly fishing and his vengeful 9-and-8 win over Stephen Ames in the 2006 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. “I just think that he didn’t quite respect the way I could play the game of golf. I just had to show him that I could still play,â€� Woods said. “You have no idea how ticked I was to miss that putt on the 10th hole to beat him 10 and 8.â€� Woods and Auriemma had a chummy rapport, and most of the interview had the tone and depth you would expect from a conversation between two men whose success has come in the sporting realm. The conversation did drift occasionally into Woods’ life away from golf, though. He said his children, Charlie and Sam, play soccer and flag football and enjoy fishing. “I’m trying to get my son into fly fishing,â€� Woods said. “That’s something I thoroughly enjoy, to be able to present a fly in the perfect spot and have it drift over a fish and have him hit it.â€� Woods called a good cast “the ultimate.â€� He told the story of his children meeting Lionel Messi and Rafael Nadal, and how he impressed on them that the two men they’d just met are legends in their respective sports. “They said, ‘Yeah, but we live with one, too,’â€� Woods said. “I didn’t really think that they knew me that way. That put me backwards a little bit. I was very shocked by that.â€� Auriemma, who said he won an $800 off Woods from a wager on last year’s Hero, did try at least three times to get him to talk about his closest friendships. Woods didn’t give much, leading Auriemma to ask if he’d ever consider a career in politics because of his propensity to answer a question without revealing too much. “Everything you say is very measured, very thoughtful, very thought out,â€� Auriemma said. “I’m surprised because our friend Charles (Barkley) is like turning on the spigot.â€� Woods referred to “a couple guys in the business world, self-made billionairesâ€� when asked about his confidantes, though that question also led him to talk about getting his handprint set in cement with Nelson Mandela. Three copies of the cast were made: one for Woods, one for Mandela and one for Mandela’s museum. “I still get chills just thinking about it,â€� Woods said in probably the weightiest moment of the interview. “The middle of the palm, the blank spot, is the shape of Africa.â€� Woods said he plays golf with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler and employees in his office but also admit that, “I have a lot of acquaintances.â€� His closest friends are the people from his childhood, but “they have their own lives. We’ve grown up together, done a lot of things together, but we all lead different lives.â€� When asked who gets to see the “realâ€� version of himself, Woods fell back on his oft-discussed enjoyment in giving his peers and fellow players “the needle.â€� “It’s usually my friends. It’s me giving them a bunch of crap about a lot of different things, more than anything when we compete,â€� Woods said. “That’s when it really gets fun.â€� Auriemma is obviously a passionate golf fan – he quickly recalled Oregon’s Pumpkin Ridge as the site of Woods’ third U.S. Amateur victory – and the highlights came when he asked Woods about his time between the ropes, where Woods said he feels “more at home there than I do most places.â€� Woods said he would like to see the golf ball fly shorter distances and called for bifurcation (different rules for professionals and amateurs) but said the difficulty lies in determining the “line of demarcationâ€� where the divide in rules should occur.  “If the game keeps progressing the way it is with technology, the 8,000-yard golf course is not too far away,â€� he said. “I don’t see (bifurcation) happening in the near future, but at least there’s talk about it now.â€� Woods named Moe Norman and Lee Trevino as the greatest ball-strikers he’s ever seen, and said that Vijay Singh and David Duval were the best among his contemporaries. Among this current crop of players, he singled out Thomas, the FedExCup champion, and World No. 1 Dustin Johnson. Of Thomas, Woods said: “The way Justin Thomas hits the ball is pretty impressive. It doesn’t have a whole lot of curve to it. He hits it very, very flush.â€� And he noted Johnson’s ability to “hit the golf ball at that speed and that velocity and not hit it crooked.â€� Comparing today’s players to their predecessors, Woods said that YouTube has led to the end of unique golf swings because it gives players an endless number of technically sound swings to analyze from every angle. “You can copy a golf swing and make yourself look like that particular person,â€� he said. “These guys didn’t have video cameras. They had to go find it in the dirt and whatever worked for them, that’s what they went with.â€� Auriemma closed the interview by asking Woods for ways in which he felt he was misunderstood. He compared himself to a courtroom lawyer to dispel the theory that he didn’t enjoy the game, which he called his “bastion.â€� “If you’re a lawyer and you’re in the courtroom, are you smiling the entire time as you’re trying to win your case? No, because you have work to do,â€� Woods said. “That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to grind it out and shoot the best score possible, and it takes a certain level of focus for me to do it. Unfortunately, that’s what people have based their assumptions on. What they see.â€�

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Here are nine tidbits from the second round of the Valspar Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, plays to 7,340 yards and is par 71. PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-five picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: No player has defended their championship and nobody has won more than once since the event moved to March in 2007. Stenson and Finau saw themselves out with matching 74-74, while Rose is the best of the bunch playing the weekend at T7. Those who were three over par or better will tee it up on the weekend and will only be nine shots off Corey Conners lead. People’s Choice: Henrik Stenson The big-hitting Swede skipped Mexico last week and prepped for this event instead. I’m not sure many gamers could tell after he circled one birdie in 36 holes. Sadly, he made just as many doubles. The shocking part for investors THIS WEEK is that he painted 20 of 26 fairways (T2). That’s good news for folks hopping on next week at Bay Hill where the Lake Nona resident and his record is even better. Tiger Woods He was the morning leader by himself at five under par before a bogey at the last saw him settle for 68 and a share of the lead. He only hit one more fairway and two more greens in Round 2, but he finds a way to get the ball in the hole. It’s his first round this season on TOUR in the 60’s, so there’s another item crossed off the list. His health is allowing him to play and the more he plays, the sharper he’s going to be. But when he hasn’t been sharp, he’s grinding like the old days. We’re almost to DEF-CON 1. Almost. Oh, and both of his playing partners MC again this week. Morning Show Ryan Palmer posted 66 in the morning wave to jump 46 spots to T2. He credited holing putts as the difference in Round 2 after opening with 72. Palmer hasn’t played this event since 2016 and this was his first round in the 60’s here in his last 11 tries. … Brandt Snedeker took one for the team at The Honda Classic (MC) as he was paired with Woods the first two rounds. Tomorrow, he’ll get a front-row seat with the circus again as he’ll play with Woods in the second-to-last group after his 68. He said after the round he’s in the best shape physically and with his swing in the last four or five years. … Englishman Paul Casey continues his excellent form after T12 last week in Mexico City where he played the final three rounds 11-under. He also posted 68 in the first wave and only has two bogeys for the week. Floor it. Afternoon Edition Corey Conners is the only player in the field to post his first two rounds in the 60’s (67-69). Whatever jitters he may have had sleeping on the lead didn’t last long. He racked up three birdies in his first seven holes and didn’t make a bogey. He did have a double, but the rookie’s lead is still two after 36 holes. He’ll have more time to sleep on his lead tonight, as he’ll be in the last group out with Casey tomorrow afternoon. … Webb Simpson’s 68 included LOSING strokes on the green. Simpson is currently in the top 10 this season in strokes gained: putting, so I wouldn’t expect that to last. He’s T7 and is looking for his third top-10 in his last six events. 3 up South African Tyrone Van Aswegen, giggling allowed of course, posted the round of the day with a bogey-free 65. He moved up 90 spots after posting 75 on Thursday. Van Aswegen has quietly made 10 of 12 cuts this season and has a trio of top-25 finishes. He opened 69-65 here last year, so I should have caught that! …  Big-hitting Jason Kokrak posted 67 and jumped 41 spots into the top 10 (T7). He’s in the top 10 of three of the four strokes-gained metrics after 36 holes so he’s not using smoke or mirrors. … Shrewd gamers are following the development of Aaron Wise. After squaring six bogeys to one birdie in Round 1, he flipped the script with a bogey-free 67 to move up 84 spots to sit T38. He cashed six times from 11 events this season and all of his checks are T33 or better. 3 down                               Fantasy golf is hard. REAL golf is even harder. Andrew Putnam entered the field on Wednesday after Vaughn Taylor’s WD and hit the ground running with 70. He dropped from T8 to MC after double hockey sticks (77) on Friday. … Former champion and recent winner Gary Woodland struggles continued after winning Waste Management Phoenix Open. He opened with 71, but he added 75 more today to drop 51 spots and miss the weekend. His best finish in four starts after his win is T49 and includes two MCs. … Luke Donald began the day in the top 10 as well (T8) but those of you just joining us will need to scroll down to T59 to see where he landed after 74. MC HOF The list of premium players heading home early from Palm Harbor is real and spectacular. Jordan Spieth’s issues on the greens continue and his inability to bounce back today was puzzling. I can’t remember the last time he made only three birdies in 36 holes. … Rory McIlroy continues to confound gamers, as his only consistency is his inconsistency.  Of his 13 rounds in the States, 10 are in the 70’s. … Ryan Moore received an interesting look in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done Presented by SERVPRO as he checked in at No. 6. In six rounds in Florida in two events, his best loop was 70. … Jason Dufner’s streak of nine in a row at Valspar is over. Study Hall Friday’s scoring average of 72.29 was over half of a stroke better than Thursday’s 72.81. … There were three bogey-free rounds on Friday after two on Thursday. … Bryson DeChambeau opened with 76 and complained about a back issue. He WD before his 7:34 AM tee time on Friday. … Bud Cauley WD at Honda with a wrist issue. He returned this week and MC (78-73). … Alex Cejka WD at Honda with a thumb injury but will play the weekend after 71-72 (+3). … Tweet of the Day:

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