Yes, Tiger was human in first round, but only a fool would write him off

ALBANY, Bahamas – Not that long ago the only use of a golf club for Tiger Woods was as a crutch to get out of bed. Now the two-time FedExCup champion is confident his latest comeback will not be like the others because this time he’s pain free as he gears up to play at the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas. Returning to competitive golf for the first time since February after spinal fusion surgery – the fourth back surgery since March 2014 – Woods believes this time is different. The 79-time PGA TOUR winner has played just 19 official events since 2014 and can’t confirm how many he may play in the future – but he’s excited none-the-less to test himself against the elite 18-man field. A year ago everyone left the Bahamas optimistic after Woods made as many birdies as winner Hideki Matsuyama (he finished 15th) only to see things fall apart in his next start at The Farmers Insurance Open. At Torrey Pines he was stiff and wooden on the way to missing the cut and then withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic the following week before going in for surgery. “This is very different because last year I was still struggling with a little bit of pain and I was able to hit some good shots, able to play, but in looking back on it now, I look on it as playing in slow mo,â€� Woods said Tuesday. “I didn’t realize how bad my back had become and how much I was flinching and just how slow I was. I didn’t realize it because it’s been a slow degrading process. “I thought I had some speed, thought I was playing halfway decent, shot some good scores, but now I’ve looked back on it and man, I didn’t even have much at all.â€� Woods says now the only issue he has is the odd bit of stiffness but given his back is fused that is no surprise. He’s “winging itâ€� as he learns just how hard he can swing and just what recovery he will need after competitive rounds and tournaments. Most people have the fusion surgery in their late 50’s. Woods is 41. “I’ll have a better understanding once I’m in game speed. I know I’ve always hit it harder come game time because of adrenaline and I’m looking forward to it and I’m also looking forward to see how I feel,â€� he says. The famous Woods smile was back as he thought about the possibility of competing with the new breed on TOUR. His last win came in 2013 when the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were not really on the radar. Now they have joined him as major winners and FedExCup champs. Last year the under 25 brigade dominated the TOUR. They mostly know Woods via what they watched on television growing up plus clips from YouTube and video games, not the heat of battle. “In an ideal world, I would like to have them feel what some of my past guys had to go against all those years. I’d like to have them feel that same play,â€� Woods smiled. “When I turned pro, I think Jordan was still in diapers, right. “But I’m just looking forward to getting through these four rounds and having an understanding, a better understanding of where I’m at. I don’t know where I’m at. I don’t know how hard I can hit it, what shots can I play. “I don’t know what the future entails in that regard because I’m still learning this body. I just really want to be able to complete this week, play all four days and give myself a chance on that back nine on Sunday to win this thing.â€� Just what Woods will be able to achieve over the next few years is yet to be seen. He clearly is on the back nine of his career. But anything of note from this point on should be seen as gravy on a legendary career. “This surgery was about quality of life because I didn’t really have much. I’ve been in bed for about two years and people ask me, why don’t you go out to dinner? I can’t, I can’t sit,â€� the 14-time major winner revealed. “So to be able to have the ability to go out and do things like that, and on top of that to be able to participate in my kids’ sports again… I’ve missed it.â€� With his daughter Sam, now 10, and son Charlie, now eight, Woods is also driven by the fact they’ve not seen him at his best. He would like for them to know their dad outside of the YouTube realm. And while they won’t be in Albany this week… if things go well there might come a day where a young Woods gets to carry the bag for dad somewhere, perhaps Augusta National like Jack Nicklaus’ son famously did for the 1986 victory. “I want them to see what I’ve been able to do my entire career. I’ve been fortunate enough to play tournament golf for 37 years and I want them to experience some of that, have a better understanding of it,â€� he said. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be playing but I want them to come to a few events, I want them to feel it, I want them to understand it a little bit more.â€� Not that long ago it appeared this day might never come again. It appeared it could all be over. But despite some really rough days Woods always thought he would be back. “I always thought that I was tough mentally,â€� Woods said. “My dad always thought so as well. Going through all this just reaffirmed that.â€�

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SAN ANTONIO — Cameron Tringale made a move for his first PGA TOUR victory with a 3-under 69 Friday and a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Valero Texas Open. RELATED: Leaderboard Tringale, a 12-year veteran, was at 9-under after a round that included five-straight birdies and leads Jordan Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace. Spieth continued his comeback from a three-year winless slump and was at 7-under after a 70. Wallace shot 68. Kyle Stanley also shot 68 and was at 5-under with Brandt Snedeker (67), Kevin Stadler (70) and Erik van Rooyen (68). First-round leader Camilo Villegas shot a 76 to fall five shots back in a group that includes Matt Kuchar, who shot his second 70. Tringale led by as many as five strokes after he closed out his front nine with consecutive birdies on his fourth through eighth holes and then birdied his 11th. Three of those featured approach shots that left him with putts of less than 5 feet. "I just hit a lot of really good iron shots to those holes," Tringale said. "I think my furthest putt was 4 feet, so just good approaches to the green. Still gotta roll those in, but was able to do it. I took advantage most of the time." His birdie run marked a quick turnaround from his start when he opened with bogeys on his first two holes. "I was really just trying to get back into the round and get into the red numbers again," he said. "I kept it in play and just had a lot of looks and a few went in." A win would give Tringale, 33, his first official TOUR win. He won a team event at the Franklin Templeton Shootout with partner Jason Day in 2015. This year he was tied for seventh at Pebble Beach. Spieth continues to look like he's getting past a slump that has seen him drop from No. 1 in the world in 2016 to No. 92 in January. Now 53rd, he's in good position for his fifth top-10 finish in the past two months after a four-birdie round. He hasn't won since 2017. "I'm really pleased with where things are at, but they're not where I want them to be at," Spieth said. "I'm trying to kind of take it slowly and patiently and reward myself, be excited about the good ones and not get too down about the bad ones." He opened with birdies on his first two holes but fell back to even for his round with bogeys at 11 and 13. "I thought the start was key for me, and I got off to a great start," he said. "I put some really good swings on the ball after kind of being a little sloppy at the end of yesterday's round." Spieth birdied the par-5 14th by getting up and down from a greenside bunker. He had an easy 3-footer for birdie on the next hole and almost chipped in for another at the 17th. Wallace is also looking for a first PGA TOUR trophy, but he's won four times on the European Tour since 2017. He had a bogey-free round. Only one of his scoring putts — a 20-footer on his 11th — came from more than 5 feet away. "Whenever you go bogey free, whatever golf course it is, it's nice, but especially here," Wallace said. "I've been feeling comfortable about my game for a while now, just trying to hole a few more putts and keep the scoring going and making the right putts at the right time." Snedeker, four strokes out of the lead, opened his round with three-straight birdies and added another two holes later. He pitched in for an eagle at his par-4 8th hole but played even par the rest of the way. Phil Mickelson recovered from a first-round that saw him take a 10 on the 18th hole. He shot 3-under 69 on Friday. He'll head to Augusta next week after missing the Valero Texas Open cut at 4-over.

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BLAINE, Minn. — Rickie Fowler’s improved driving helped him shoot a 5-under 65 on Sunday in the final round of the Open Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Dustin Johnson looks to find form at 3M Open Looking for a late push in the FedEx Cup standings, Fowler carried over the strong play Thursday with a 7-under 64 in the first round of the 3M Open. Fowler set the opening-round pace with a bogey-free round later equaled by Jhonatton Vegas and Troy Merritt, who attended Spring Lake Park High School, about six miles south of the TPC Twin Cities. Fowler, who has never missed the FedEx Cup playoffs in 11 seasons, started the tournament ranked 124th in the standings, with the top 125 making the playoffs. There are two weeks remaining after the 3M Open to qualify for the playoffs. “I know where I’m at, what we need to do and stuff like that,” Fowler said. “Really just focusing on things we’ve been working on, playing more consistent good golf. More days like today and things will be fine. Kind of keep things, like I said, simple and small, focus on the day-to-day and this week, and go from there. Everything will work out.” Vegas capped an eventful opening round in the dark when his approach on the par-5 18th landed on top of a hospitality tent. His ball was eventually found and he was given free relief. He birdied the hole to tie for the lead. “You can barely see the flag,” Vegas said. “We had a number, which we messed up the number trying to play fast. I knew it was going to be long. … It was a little bit of a nightmare right at the end.” Scott Stallings was trying to equal the course record of 62 before he double-bogeyed the 18th following more than a two-hour delay due to lightning in the area. Stallings was a stroke back at 65 with Adam Schenk and Roger Sloan. Sloan had two holes to play when play was suspended due to darkness with 11 players still on the course. After his disappointing finish last weekend in the Open, Louis Oosthuizen shot 68. Dustin Johnson, who withdrew with a back injury after an opening 78 in the 3M Open last year, opened with a 70. Johnson was playing with Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade’s vice president of tour operations, as his caddie after Johnson’s brother, Austin, his usual caddie, tested positive for COVID-19. Johnson said his brother has already been cleared for his next tournament, the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee, from Aug. 5-8. “Keith’s worked for me quite a few times; Presidents Cup, U.S. Open, a few events here and there,” said Johnson, who tested positive for COVID-19 in November. “Yeah, we did just fine. Maybe hit the wrong club on a couple holes, but other than that, that was my fault though, I guess.” Fowler, who’s looking for his first win since the 2019 Phoenix Open, didn’t have any mistakes. Starting on the back nine, the 32-year-old from California made three straight birdies on his turn from the 18th to the second hole. He gained some confidence following his final round last weekend at Royal St. George’s. Fowler was one of 30 players to take a charter straight to Minnesota from the Open. “That was something that was kind of holding me back from making birdies, moving forward last week,” Fowler said about his driving. “So today, I mean, going off of what we did Sunday last week, just needed to tighten a few things up. This golf course is fairly generous off the tee. There’s a few lakes, ponds that you just need to avoid. Other than that, it’s go, attack for the most part.” Fowler and Merritt were in the morning wave that started in hazy and humid conditions and then had to wait through a delay of 2 hours, 24 minutes. Stallings was alone in the lead when play resumed, but his second shot on the 18th found the water, and his follow-up overshot the green. “It stings now because it was five minutes ago,” Stallings said. “But at the end of the day I’m going to go out there. Put myself in great position after the first round and go out there and try and continue to do that the rest of the week.” Merritt, who’s missed the cut in his last two starts, could be the sentimental favorite back in Minnesota. He finished with eight birdies, including his final two holes to equal Fowler. “I’ve seen this golf course now for about 20 years,” Merritt said. “Came to watch the seniors play when I was in high school and got to play it once or twice. It’s just a lot of fun. It’s great for the players, it’s great for the fans, you can make a lot of birdies, the scoring’s usually really low. So, if you like shootouts, this is the golf course for you and you’re going to get another one this week.”

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