Tiger at the Hero World Challenge
Tiger Woods played 72 holes of competitive golf and he still felt good at the end of the Hero World Challenge. We even got to utter the words, “Tiger Woods is leading the Hero World Challenge.” We watched him drive 336-yard par 4’s, hit 280-yard three woods to 15 feet, and 260-yard 2-irons into the wind. It was a sight to behold.
Before we get to Tiger, let’s talk Rickie Fowler for a minute. Fowler began the final round seven shots behind 54-hole leader Charley Hoffman. He proceeded to birdie his first seven holes including a bunker hole-out on the fifth hole. Fowler made the turn in 28 shots and cruised to a 4-shot victory over Hoffman. He led the field in birdies with 30 and his red hot putter was a big reason why.
Tiger Woods Takeaways
I got to watch Tiger play for four days and I have four takeaways from his T-9 performance at the Hero World Challenge.
He went AFTER some shots
Beginning with the 260-yard 2-iron on number three in the first round, Tiger was going after the ball all week. His swing this time around gives him the ability to do that, he’s got more rotation, is getting stuck less often, and isn’t trying to save a back he doesn’t have confidence in. He took some really hard swings over the course of 72 holes and his body performed admirably every time.
He had a competitive fire this week
Tiger’s foul language was in midseason form in the Bahamas. Several different times Tiger had reactions to shots that you wouldn’t want your 11-year-old hearing. He threw irons into the ground on par three’s with some impressive power leaving cat-sized holes in the tee boxes.
What does this tell me?
This tells me that Tiger wasn’t going out there just trying to complete a round. With that being said, playing 72 holes was all I was hoping for this week. However, Tiger definitely expected to compete at this tournament and he expected himself to perform well everytime he hit a golf shot. Tiger being more focused on his performance than his body is a good sign.
He is the best putter in the world
You can’t be the best to ever play the game without being the best putter ever. And Tiger, after this week, is still the best putter ever. If there is one thing Tiger could rely on this week, it was his putter. He drained multiple eagle putts, some nice long distance birdies and his share of longer par putts between eight and 12 feet. The rest of his short game around the greens definitely needs some work. But his putter? Still butter.
Where did that driving accuracy come from?
At the top of his game, Tiger was the best iron player, short game player, and putter in the world. For the majority of his career accuracy off the tee has been a battle for Tiger. This week, apart from a windy third round, the driver was one the best clubs in Tiger’s bag. I’ll put it this way if Tiger drove the ball his entire career the way he drove it this week, he would have already broken Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors and would probably be around 20 or 21. Tiger driving the ball better is not a good thing if you’re a golfer going toe-to-toe with him.
Golf is a better game with Tiger in the mix. It was refreshing to see him competing against this new generation of great golfers. Hopefully, he will stick around and be a constant on the PGA Tour in 2018.
Main image credit:
Embed from Getty Images
