What to make of Tiger’s return so far

GREENSBORO, N.C. – There’s a lot on the line at this week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. The top 125 in the FedExCup standings advance to the Playoffs next week and the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 competition will be decided. Here’s a quick look at each one after Thursday’s opening round, played under cloudy skies and halted at 6:08 p.m. by a thunderstorm with 33 players on the course. Players will return to complete the first round at 7 a.m. ET and the second round will begin as scheduled. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Simpson, Todd feed off friendly energy | Three share lead after Round 1 FedExCup Update At stake: The 125 spots in the upcoming FedExCup Playoffs. Players who finish outside the top 125 after this week will see their seasons end. Unlike in past seasons, though, all players who were exempt this year will retain their eligibility for the 2020-21 campaign due to the schedule reduction caused by COVID-19. Latest projections: Roger Sloan, Chesson Hadley and Hank Lebioda – who was playing the 17th hole when play was halted — are currently projected to move into the top 125 while Fabian Gomez, Russell Knox and bubble boy Charl Schwartzel are projected to drop out. … Of those, Roger Sloan, who is in a three-way tie for the lead, made the biggest move, jumping from No. 178 to 49th. … Hadley, who lives in nearby Raleigh and is tied for fifth after a 65, is projected to make a 26-spot jump to No. 110. … Leboida, who is also currently in the logjam at 5 under, had jumped 22 spots to No. 116 when play was halted … Gomez has fallen four spots to No. 126, Knox has dropped three to No. 127 and Schwartzel has dropped three to No. 128. … Seven of the last 10 players who came to Sedgefield ranked No. 125 have advanced to the Playoffs but the three who were eliminated have been in the last four years. … Sloan said he doesn’t feel as much pressure as he might have this week given that he has a card for next season – regardless of what happens. “Now, with that being said, you know, obviously I really want to be in the Playoffs next week, I want to make a good push,” he said after shooting 62. “We’re starting to play some really good golf so I think you can string together a few really good weeks at the right time of year and make a little bit of noise at the right time.” Stuck in neutral: Brooks Koepka was ranked 208th in the FedExCup when the PGA TOUR returned to action after the three-month layoff due to COVID-19. The Wyndham Championship is his eighth straight tournament. … His tie for second at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational moved him from No. 155 to 96th. Koepka came to Greensboro ranked No. 92 hoping to give himself a boost as he tries to make it to the finale in Atlanta for the fifth time in six years. … But he said he came out flat on Thursday, shooting a 2-over 72 to fall one spot. Even so, Koepka said he never thought about taking a week off. … “Not really, because I thought even if I gain one spot in the FedEx, it makes it that much easier for next week, so you’ve got to play, see where you’re at,” he said. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever played more than four in a row pretty much out here. It will be quite a long stretch, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.” Wyndham Rewards Top 10 At stake: The top 10 spots in the FedExCup standings and its bonus pool money of $10 million. Justin Thomas already has wrapped up the top prize of $2 million. There was no movement in the top 10 on Thursday. Webb Simpson, who has two wins this season, remains in third after opening with a 66. Fifth-ranked Sungjae Im shot 1 under while No. 6 Patrick Reed, the 2013 Wyndham Championship winner, shot 65. Brendon Todd, who has also won twice this year, shot 68 and stays in the No. 9 spot.

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Tournament host Tiger Woods announced late Monday that he will make his return to competitive golf at the 18-man Hero World Challenge, Nov. 30-Dec. 3, at Albany, Bahamas. After a nine-month recuperation from his latest back operation, Woods announced on Twitter that he and Daniel Berger will round out the field. “I’d like to thank the committee of 1 for picking myself and Daniel Berger to play in this years #HeroWorldChallenge,� Woods tweeted. Although he won five times on the PGA TOUR in 2013, Woods has made just 19 starts since then, including one in 2017, at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He shot 76-72 to miss the cut, and announced in April that he had undergone back fusion surgery—his fourth back operation in three years. “I am excited to return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge,� Woods said. “Albany is the perfect setting and it will be great to join this outstanding field. I want to thank Pawan Munjal and Hero MotoCorp for their continued support of this tournament and my foundation. I would also like to thank the fans for their unwavering support during my injury.� Woods was an assistant to U.S. Team Captain Steve Stricker at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, where he was asked why it was important for him to return to competitive golf. “I think it’s fun,� said the 14-time major winner Woods, who will turn 42 in December. “You know, I’ve been competing in golf tournaments since I was, what, four years old. From pitch, putt and drive to playing major championships, it’s always been fun to me.� Younger players like Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, each 24, grew up watching Woods on TV and now dominate the TOUR along with Dustin Johnson, 33. But it can’t be lost on Woods that two of the first five winners this season, Pat Perez and Ryan Armour, are his age, 41.   Woods has given regular updates of his slow progress. He engaged in putting contests with fellow South Floridians Rickie Fowler and Thomas, and said he was sleeping better and had no nerve pain running down his legs. Then he was chipping. Then he was hitting full shots. Last week he posted a slow-motion video of himself hitting his old standby, the “stinger.� “I don’t know what 100 percent means after eight surgeries,� Woods said at the Presidents Cup. “But I’ll try and get as close as I can to that number, yes. But as I said, we just take it one step at a time. It’s a process, and I’m in no hurry.� The youngest assistant captain on either team at the Presidents Cup, Woods huddled with fellow assistants Fred Couples, Jim Furyk and Davis Love III as Stricker announced the lineups. “It would be fun to have him back,� Brooks Koepka said. “Fans want it. Players want it.� Starting at the Hero, they’ll get it.

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