I’m sorry folks, but if you’re looking to avoid wall-to-wall Tiger Woods coverage, you’ve come to the wrong place.
We’re back after a hiatus longer than a striped Tiger Woods 2-iron now that there’s been some action in the world of golf, and as you can expect, we’ve got the Man in Red on the brain. If you haven’t heard, the G.O.A.T. came back this week for his first competitive round in nearly a year, and didn’t play too shabby in his return. Woods finished tied for ninth place, 10 shots back of champion Rickie Fowler, but did briefly hold the lead on Friday. A mediocre Saturday 75 sunk his chances at victory, but there were more positives than negatives to take away from the Hero World Challenge.
Let’s hit the links.
Hole #1: Rickie Fowler Wins Hero World Challenge
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. Rickie Fowler carded a smooth 61 on Sunday after to capture the Hero World Challenge. Good things tend to happen when you birdie your first seven holes, and the four-stroke victory over Charley Hoffman certainly qualifies. [Link]
Hole #2: Tiger Woods Goes 69-68-75-68 to Finish T9 at Albany
It was a stellar comeback for Tiger Woods this week, as he carded three rounds in the 60s to finish tied for ninth at his own tournament, the Hero World Challenge. (Not even winner Rickie Fowler had three rounds in the 60s, which means Tiger basically won.) He finished 10 shots back, halfway down the pack in a field of 18, but did so pain-free and with a surprisingly robust-looking swing. [Link]
Hole #3: Chamblee: “I Was Wrong”
It’s a good day in the golf world when Brandel Chamblee displays some humility. [Link]
Hole #4: Bob Harig on Tiger’s Road Ahead
Some good insight into Tiger’s near-term and long-term future. [Link]
Hole #5: Tiger Jumps from 1199th to 668th in the OWGR
With good play comes Official World Golf Ranking improvement, as Tiger’s T9 finish valued him up a whopping 531 spots. [Link]
Hole #6: Tiger’s 2018 Schedule
Though he hasn’t actually announced where he’ll play next, Tiger did say that he’ll be focusing on fine-tuning himself for the majors, while making sure he doesn’t play too much. [Link]
Hole #7: Butch Harmon: “Very Pleasantly Surprised”
Butch Harmon even got in on the act of praising Tiger’s return, saying that he was “very pleasantly surprised” with Woods’ progress. [Link]
Hole #8: Michael Bamberger on Tiger’s Comeback
More perspective on the latest comeback. [Link]
Hole #9: Alan Shipnuck on Tiger’s Demeanor
We’re eschewing the usual Weekly Woods Wrap-up here on HTL, for one more link to a column about Tiger’s return. [Link]