Crowds will return at Augusta, to some degree

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Last year’s Open Championship showed Tiger Woods that he could win another major. Now he’s seeing how difficult it is, after four back surgeries and 43 years on this earth, to recover from winning one. “It took a lot out of me,â€� Woods said Tuesday about his historic win over a star-studded leaderboard at Augusta National. His abbreviated preparations for The Open Championship are proof. Woods’ body has forced him to cut down on his practice, even for the game’s biggest events. He admitted Tuesday that his game is “not quite as sharp as I’d like to have it right now.â€� RELATED: Koepka’s caddie’s experience | Tee times | Expert Picks | Power Rankings | Five things: Royal Portrush Such a statement from Woods, especially two days before the start of a major, would have been unfathomable years earlier. He popularized the word “peakingâ€� in the game’s lexicon and won majors by being a calculating tactician who steadfastly stuck to a measured gameplan to outlast his competition. He hasn’t played since the U.S. Open, though. He took a two-week trip to Thailand between the Opens and started working on his game after returning home July 2. Listening to Woods talk Tuesday, it is obvious that he only has so many swings left and he wants to use the remaining ones strategically. “If I play a lot, I won’t be out here (on TOUR) that long,â€� he said. He’s played just three tournaments since winning the Masters in April, and two of them were majors. The Masters was his 15th major and 81st PGA TOUR victory, leaving him one short of Sam Snead’s record. With such a limited schedule, Woods is still trying to find his form with two days remaining before The Open Championship. He’s content with the state of the short game, but not comfortable hitting the variety of trajectories that are necessary to navigate the links. Woods said he won’t play Wednesday. He will hit the range during the last day of pre-tournament preparations. “And hopefully that will be enough to be ready,â€� said Woods, who’s never played Royal Portrush. His only time in Northern Ireland came during his pre-Open fishing and golf trips in the late ‘90s with Mark O’Meara and the late Payne Stewart. Data and analytics allow players to dissect courses in unprecedented way, but it’s been seven years since a professional tournament was played here (the Irish Open) and more than six decades since The Open last came here. Woods admitted Tuesday that he still has “quite a bit of homework to do.â€� He’ll also lean heavily on caddie Joe LaCava, who’s put in extra steps to prepare for the myriad conditions that can be encountered during a single round on the links. It would’ve once seemed unfathomable for Woods to arrive at a major with holes in his game, but this is the new normal. He laughed when he was asked if anything “out of the normâ€� was ailing him. His response proved that his daily aches and pains are enough to deal with. Woods, of course, still has to be considered a contender. The lack of response from Brooks Koepka to a practice-round request is proof. Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, is an invaluable asset this week after growing up in Portrush. Woods sent a text after the U.S. Open asking if they could play a practice round. “I heard nothing,â€� Woods said. The Open Championship offers Woods his best opportunity to win another major. Links golf requires precision, not power, and approach play has always been his specialty. Players aren’t forced to carry the ball exorbitant distances. They can plot their way around the course and run the ball along the ground. Tom Watson’s performance at Turnberry in 2009 provides proof. Woods used crafty course management to win his three claret jugs, avoiding St. Andrews’ merciless pot bunkers in 2000 and 2005, and hitting just one driver in his 2006 victory at Royal Liverpool. Woods has to rely on such guile more than he did in recent years. He used to dominate with his length. Now he needs to play a craftier game. He would rank 65th in driving distance if he had enough rounds to qualify for the PGA TOUR’s statistical rankings. “He seems to have lost a bit of ball speed this year, which I think is a conscious decision, to take some pressure off his back,â€� Padraig Harrington said in May. “He realizes if you’re still leading greens in regulation, it’s obviously shown that he doesn’t need that ball speed.â€� Portrush, however, requires a more aerial approach than most links courses. Irish links are known for more dramatic elevation changes than their cousins across the Irish Sea. This week’s forecast, which calls for cool and rainy weather, doesn’t help Woods, either. A record heat wave made Carnoustie play firm and fast last year. That allowed Woods to take a tactical approach, hitting stingers off the tee and leaning on his strong iron game (Woods was third in Strokes Gained: Approach last season). Woods started the final round four shots off the lead, but he grabbed the lead when he reached 7 under par with a bogey-free front nine. He played Nos. 11 and 12 in 3 over, though, and finished three shots behind Francesco Molinari. Woods, who played alongside Molinari in the final round, said the loss would “sting.â€� The lessons paid off, though. “It was my first time there in contention with the chance to win a major championship in a very long time,â€� Woods said Tuesday. “And I learned a lot. I applied what I learned at Bellerive. Didn’t make that many mistakes, shot a great final round just wasn’t good enough to chase down Brooksie. And then at Augusta just kind of put it all together and was just very patient.â€� How long will we have to wait to see Woods win again? His health will determine that answer.

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Kyle Stanley … For as much as it’s important to remember that he was trending for months in advance of his second PGA TOUR victory last summer, he’s sustained and slightly improved his position on the world stage since. Up three clicks to 55th in the Official World Golf Ranking since posing for pictures at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm eight months ago, he’s returning to the World Golf Championsips-Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time since his debut in 2012. His commitment to the Arnold Palmer Invitational grants one more opportunity to climb even higher before next Monday’s live draw for round-robin play next week. Tied for 17th with a typically polished tee-to-green game at Bay Hill during his resurgence last year. Now coming off a T25 at Chapultepec, his fifth top 25 of the season. Jamie Lovemark … While he was born and raised in southern California, the Florida Swing has been kinder to him since regaining fully exempt status in 2015-16. Then again, he’s been a resident of Jupiter, Florida, for years, so the absence of success here as well would be a surprise. His slate in the Sunshine State includes a T6 and T23 in the last two editions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He also struts in on the strength of a solo seventh at PGA National and a T16 at Copperhead. With positive measurements in strokes gained: putting in both events, he’s risen 32 spots to 42nd overall on TOUR. Put it all together and Bay Hill is at or near the top of the most logical sites for the 29-year-old to capture his maiden title. Lucas Glover … In the same lane for anyone who had a tough time digesting that Valspar Championship winner Paul Casey is already 40 years old, Glover will reach that age at the end of next year. Already. He’s gone six seasons since his most recent of three PGA TOUR victories (2011 Wells Fargo Championship), but he’s remained a fixture of late for doing what he does best. The sharpshooter ranks 15th in total driving, 10th in strokes gained: off-the-tee and 44th in greens in regulation. He’s also 44th in both scrambling and bogey avoidance. In eight prior appearances at Bay Hill, he connected for four top 20s, including a personal-best T7 last year. Jason Kokrak … As he enters his prime, the 32-year-old continue to make noise and perhaps inch closer to the elusive breakthrough victory. Perfect in six starts in 2018 with three top 20s, including a T8 at Copperhead on Sunday. He’s also come within striking distance at Bay Hill twice before, eventually finishing fourth in 2014 and T6 in 2015. Sits 18th on TOUR in adjusted scoring, T4 in par-5 scoring, 10th in bogey avoidance and 21st in the all-around. Collin Morikawa … The 21-year-old from Los Angeles is a junior at the University of California-Berkeley. He’s currently fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and second in Golfweek’s Sagarin Ranking. Along with 2017 U.S. Amateur runner-up Doug Ghim and former Pac-12 Conference foe Maverick McNealy (from Stanford), went 4-0 at the 2017 Walker Cup. In his only career start on the Web.com Tour, lost in a playoff at the 2016 Air Capital Classic where Ollie Schniederjans prevailed. Morikawa secured his exemption into the field at Bay Hill this week via his Palmer Cup appearance last year. He couldn’t ask for a better tune-up as he’s fresh off an individual title and school-record 16-under 197 at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Mexico on March 6.

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