Expert Picks: Valspar Championship

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SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods’ pro-am round for the Farmers Insurance Open confirmed the 14-time major champion’s reasons for optimism while simultaneously showing the distance he must traverse to win his 80th PGA TOUR title. He had his share of highlights, including approach shots knocked stiff at the first and final holes and a 25-foot eagle putt at the 17th hole, but also missed a frustrating amount of short putts and had a recovery shot bounce backward after striking a tree. Woods hit his driver hard and his irons high, but his final score of even-par 72 seemed to be an accurate assessment of his day. He had several close approach shots, but didn’t consistently give himself birdie putts within 15 feet of the hole. Most of his misses were just off the fairway or green, though. Two tee shots – at Nos. 5 and 16 – were the only egregious misses. The latter was his sloppiest hole of the day. He was visibly frustrated as he walked to his ball after his failed attempt from the trees, rushing his pre-shot routine before hitting his ball on the green. The frustration shows that Woods still has a standard he expects to meet, even if it isn’t as high as it once was. Unlike the years when he was hampered by back pain, he isn’t content to just be able to swing the club. Even though he admitted that his expectations are tempered by the fact that he hasn’t played on TOUR in a year, Woods talked Wednesday about compiling a schedule that best prepares him for the Masters. The year’s first major is on his mind. The clubhead speed and confidence that make him optimistic about this comeback were on display Wednesday. So fresh is this start that it’s easy to forget that Woods played in this event last year, missing the cut with rounds of 76 and 72. His back already hurting, he lasted just one more round before shutting it down. There’s no pain this year. “I haven’t felt this good in years, so I’m excited about it,� Woods said. “I want to start feeling what it feels like to be out here and hit shots, grind out scores, and that’s something that I’ve been looking forward to.� This is just his second official PGA TOUR start since the 2015 Wyndham Championship. Success won’t be measured in a result this week, though. More important will be what happens 5, 10 or 15 starts from now. He hasn’t played more than 10 events since 2015, and his Player of the Year season of 2013 is the last time he made more than 15 starts. Woods would not elaborate on his upcoming schedule, though. The Genesis Open remains the only other tournament to which he has committed. Woods said he’s been playing golf six days per week, and that, unlike last year, he’s unencumbered by limits on how many holes he can play or balls he can hit. He’s still trying to learn how he can swing with the limited mobility that comes with a fused back. Woods no longer works with an instructor, choosing to experiment on his own. “I’d like to meet somebody who can swing it over 120 miles an hour with a fused back. Do you know anybody?� Woods asked rhetorically. “No one understands that, so I have to rely on my own feels and play around with what my body can and cannot do.� How he swung Wednesday, during what he termed a “hit and giggle� affair where entertaining his amateur partners was a priority along with learning a renovated North Course he’s played just once in competition, pales in importance to his performance Thursday, when he tees off at 10:40 a.m. with Charley Hoffman and Patrick Reed on the South Course. Woods is a seven-time champion of this event, and the winner of the 2008 U.S. Open here, but he hasn’t played on a Sunday at the South Course in five years. His victory at the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open was one of five wins that year. Torrey Pines has changed greatly since his first victory here, in 1999. He shot 22-under par that week. Three of the past four years, the Farmers Insurance Open has been won with a score that’s single-digits under par. Both courses have been renovated since Woods’ first win, and the rough was thick enough Wednesday to make searching for balls a struggle. “The greens are definitely very spring, and it’s going to be a challenge this week,� he said. “It’s going to be a little bit harder to make birdies than it has been in the past. It will be a great challenge.� How Woods handles it is of supreme interest this week, but success will be measured in a matter of months, not days.

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