Page 20 - ARUBA TODAY

A20 SPORTS
Thursday 1 december 2016
Tiger Woods returns amid varied expectations, high interest

DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) —
Everyone is watching, ev-
eryone is curious, and Jor-
dan Spieth had the perfect
view of Tiger Woods for his
return to golf.
Spieth was on the 17th
green and looked across
a narrow pond to the ninth
tee at Albany Golf Club
where Woods stood over
his tee shot during the
Wednesday pro-am. He
saw the swing, but he lost
sight of the ball in the glare
of the tropical sun.
“Where did it go?” Spieth
said as he tried to gauge
where the ball might land.
“Not in the fairway.”
He looked again.
“Whoa! There it is — WAY
down there,” he said.
“Damn.”
The shots and the score
don’t count until Thursday
at the Hero World Chal-
lenge with an 18-man field,
small but strong. Woods is
playing for the first time in
465 days. The expectations
have rarely been this var-
ied. The interest is as high
as ever.
“He’s the only person ... Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the Pro-Am at the Hero World Challenge golf tournament, Wednesday,
Nov. 30, 2016, in Nassau, Bahamas.
in the last 30 years in golf Associated Press
that any expectation you
set, he’ll somehow prove
to you that he can do bet-
ter,” Spieth said. “But I think and a red shirt on Sunday. arguably the best anyone were not easy on any of pull off a shot where you
with this, I just hope that Reed is but one example has ever played — that the players. Woods said can take him down.”
everyone gives him time. of the golf landscape to might be tough because there were no surprises Yang rallied from two be-
I hope he has the time to which Woods returns, one of of injuries, and he’s at a dif- about how he played, and hind to beat Woods in the
fall into a rhythm and just seven players in the 18-man ferent age. his only complaint was get- 2009 PGA Championship,
get enough tournaments field who were not even on It’s not like he’s been away ting his speed right on the the only time Woods lost a
where he can kind of build tour when Woods last won that long. It just seems lon- green. major when leading going
up that seeing the shots a major at the 2008 U.S. ger because of how domi- “I was able to hit all the into the final round.
under competition, under Open. Another is Russell nant he was.” shots I needed to hit,” he Woods has played with
the gun. Knox, who said recently, Woods declared himself said. Fowler and Justin Rose,
“You can look back 10 “My short career will never ready to play and said, Spieth has Jason Dufner and Justin
years at shots you hit. It’s be over until I play with Ti- “I’m going to try to win this seen Woods when he was Thomas, in recent months.
not the same as looking ger Woods.” thing.” No. 1 in the world. He’d Simulating tournament
back the week before on It was only three years ago The pro-am is never a true love nothing more than to conditions is a different
a positive swing.” that Woods won five times measure, and the wind see the Woodsthat once matter, and that will be the
Woods last played on Aug. and was PGA Tour player was whipping across the is- made winning — majors in- ultimate measure this week
23, 2015, when he closed of the year. That still wasn’t land on Wednesday. Even cluded — look routine. and beyond.
with a 70 at the Wyndham the dominance he once so, Woods showed no sign “We all hope for many rea- “He’s been out of com-
Championship to fall out had over the game, for he of fatigue or aches, and sons that he comes back petitiveness for quite some
of contention and tie for finished in the top 10 only 53 his swing certainly looked fully healthy and his game time, so that might be a
10th. Two back surgeries percent of the time, his low- more efficient than when is fully back,” Spieth said. little while before you find
followed, leaving him so est rate in a dozen years. he was playing no more “To name one, you don’t your bearings again,”
debilitated at times that he Woods had five or more than 10 times each of the ever want to see some- Henrik Stenson said. “But
wondered if he would ever victories 11 times in a span previous two years as he body go down because of as you know, he’s done
play. of 13 seasons. was trying to navigate a injury. And two, I think it was some remarkable things
He tees off at high noon in “The better he plays, the bad back. a dream for all of us young throughout his career.
the Bahamas with Patrick better it is for golf,” Rickie On the par-5 third hole, he guys to one day grow up And if there’s someone
Reed, who idolized his golf Fowler said. “Whether he hit a drive and a 3-iron to and battle Tiger on a Sun- that can jump right back
so much as a teenager gets back to the way he about 10 feet for an eagle. day when he was playing up and play some great
that he wears black pants did in the early 2000s — He also had a few bogeys his best, and see if you can golf again, that would be
from what I’ve heard, it was along the way. Conditions Y.E. Yang it, see if you can him.”q