You haven’t heard the last of Will Zalatoris at the Masters

NASSAU, Bahamas — The latest comeback by Tiger Woods, this one following a 10-month absence from a fourth back surgery in three years, was sure to cause some disruption in the workforce with the weekday television coverage. That included the commissioner’s office at the PGA TOUR. “I would consider myself to be among the highly distracted as Tiger played his first round,” Jay Monahan said Tuesday. Monahan was at the Hero World Challenge the day before it began and stayed for the pro-am dinner, where he said Woods spoke from the heart about his foundation, thanked the other 17 players for coming and reminded them they had a chance to compete against a player at No. 1,199 in the world ranking. “That broke up the room,” Monahan said with a laugh. Indeed, it’s rare for a player to tie for ninth and move up 531 spots in the world ranking — Woods now is all the way up to No. 668 — but such were the circumstances. The field featured eight of the top 10 in the world, and it included one guy who had earned ranking points at only two tournaments over the last two years. There’s no way to go but up. That’s what Monahan took away from the holiday exhibition, only he wasn’t talking about the world ranking. “We had such a strong year with great, young players stepping forward,” he said. “You add Tiger back in the mix, and we all go away from it with a lot of excitement.” How much Woods is in the mix remains to be seen, although this was as strong as he has looked in four years. Next up is figuring out a schedule that Woods said would be geared around the four majors. He hasn’t played all four since 2015, and he hasn’t made the cut in all of them since 2013. Most of the young players at Albany Golf Club — Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger — know more about the legend of Woods than what it’s like to have him at tournaments. Thomas got a taste of it. He is the FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year after winning five times, including his first major at the PGA Championship. He started the new season by winning the CJ Cup in South Korea. And when he sat down for a news conference, his first six questions were about Woods. Thomas was paired with Woods for the first and final rounds, and while Woods had the largest gallery, there was rarely more than about 250 fans. It’s the Bahamas. So when Thomas was asked if felt the effect of Woods on the golf course or in his news conference, he smiled. “I would say more of the fact that I just won the FedExCup, Player of the Year, and all I get asked about is Tiger Woods,” he said. Thomas was not the least bit irritated, even though this was the 10th out 12 consecutive questions he fielded about Woods on that day. “I thought it was bad the questions I got asked about Jordan,” Thomas said. Golf wasn’t suffering without Woods, not inside the ropes. Dating to when Woods had his first back surgery, Rory McIlroy won two majors in 2014; Spieth got halfway to the calendar Grand Slam in 2015; Dustin Johnson fulfilled his potential with his first major in 2016 and was voted player of the year. And this year brought the emergence of the 24-year-old Thomas. None can draw attention to golf like Woods — not individually, maybe not collectively. That’s no surprise. “The keen golf fans will know Tiger moved the needle and brought people in that might be sports fans, but not golf fans,” Henrik Stenson said. “But everyone who follows golf closely, I don’t think they’ve been home thinking, ‘Oh, this is not exciting anymore,’ when all the guys at the top have been winning. It’s been a healthy couple of years, even though he’s not been on the scene. “I don’t think he can make it less good, having the old Tiger back and trying to charge through the field,” Stenson said. “It would make it even more exciting.” There’s also the danger, especially in today’s social media climate, to gush so much over Woods that it seems no one else is playing and tournaments that Woods doesn’t play are not worth watching. This is nothing new. The PGA TOUR has been facing questions like this for 20 years. Monahan sees only an upside now. “We have such a deep bench of young, international players, combined with a great group of veterans. All have accomplished a lot in their own right, week in and week out. The story lines will be strong,” Monahan said. “You take a strong PGA TOUR and just make it stronger. And it doesn’t just apply when Tiger is playing. The fact he’s back is bringing more attention, more eyeballs, and that’s going to benefit everyone. “It’s great to be back in that situation.”

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During a practice round ahead of this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, PGA TOUR Champions pro Jim Furyk was addressed by playing partner Brent Grant with the deferential ‘sir’ formality. Grant, 25, then asked Furyk, 51, what he liked most about his early career on the 50-and-older circuit. “No one calls me ‘sir,’” Furyk replied. Grant was born in March 1996, a month after Furyk’s first Sony Open victory, carding 11-under total and besting Brad Faxon in a playoff for his second PGA TOUR title. Furyk, now a 17-time TOUR winner in addition to three PGA TOUR Champions victories, has intentions of adding a second Sony Open title to his collection. The Pennsylvania native, inspired by his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers’ late-season push to a playoff berth, carded an opening-round, 8-under 62 at Waialae CC – including a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th hole. Furyk becomes the oldest player to shoot 62 or better on TOUR since 1983, doing so with a torrid 5-under stretch on his final five holes – including a par at the par-5 18th. Playing on a sponsor’s exemption as the first leg of an Aloha Double – en route to next week’s PGA TOUR Champions season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai – Furyk proved early that he’s looking to do more than solely fill a spot in the field. “I love (the) Sony (Open) … it’s a place I’ve had a lot of success,” said Furyk after signing for his eighth round of 62 or better on TOUR. “I’m not hitting the ball far enough to compete out here on a regular basis on a lot of the golf courses, but Waialae is a place I still feel I can get around and shoot under par pretty well, and so it’s fun. “Places I’ve won, Valspar, Heritage, those are courses I can still compete on. Once in a while, I’ll dip out here, but I’ll predominantly play on PGA TOUR Champions.” When he does dip back out onto the PGA TOUR though, Furyk strategically picks his spots to maximize his opportunity to make an impact. Venerable Waialae CC appears the perfect venue – Furyk has recorded 10 top-25s in 17 Sony Open appearances, including his 1996 victory and a 1997 runner-up. The Sony Open demands a precision game. Tree-lined, par-70 Waialae CC plays to just 7,044 yards and requires players to shape the ball both ways, preferring precision to power. Three decades into his professional career, Furyk’s game fits that bill. Averaging 271.9 yards off the tee, Furyk rebounded from an opening bogey to record seven birdies and an eagle, including his sixth career TOUR ace at the 187-yard, par-3 17th. “I thought I was in-between clubs, but (caddie) Fluff assured me it was a 6-iron for me,” Furyk recollected of his decision-making process on No. 17 tee. “It was the right club and I had it teed up a little bit, trying to get the ball in the air and hit down on it. Caught it just a smidge high in the face. “And so I loved the line it was on, but I wasn’t quite sure I caught enough of it to cover it. And carried on the green probably two or three yards and landed in a perfect spot and then released towards the pin. I guess that’s kind of the line I was looking.” Yes, sir!

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