It has been a roller coaster of sorts for Tiger Woods this Summer. The US Open was forgettable. He contended at a watered down PGA Tour event in DC. He led on the back nine of a major for the first time in years at the British. He looked tired last week at the Bridgestone.
And that brings us to this week’s PGA Championship.
On Monday, we learned that Tiger had been soaking himself in ice baths to deal with inflammation. No biggie, lots of athletes do this, but it is concerning to hear 42-year-old and four-time back surgery patient Tiger Woods saying it. It was more concerning when you consider he was just dreadful over the weekend at Firestone. Maybe not concerning in terms of Tiger’s health, but concerning for his chances heading into the PGA. Could he hold up? Is he spent after his first full summer on Tour in years? These were legitimate questions facing Woods as he started hacking it around Bellerive for essentially the first time.
Hacking is probably the word to best describe his first two holes on Thursday. Bellerive was expected to be a course that didn’t set up well for Tiger’s game. The first shots he hit seemed to validate that speculation. A bogey followed by a double strongly indicated that we were heading on the fast track to a missed cut or maybe even something worse.
But Tiger righted the ship and got better every day. When he tees off Sunday afternoon he will be four back. Surprisingly, perhaps inexplicably, Tiger Woods will be in contention with a real chance at another major.
So can he get it done this time? Well, he has some things going against him. For one, Brooks Koepka has been a machine. Anything under par from Koepka tomorrow will make him hard to catch.
The other issue, and perhaps the most important one, is that Tiger has struggled in big moments. It seems weird to say it, but Tiger has appeared to let nerves get the best of him in several key spots.
With chances to charge at Bay Hill, Sawgrass, TPC Potomac, and most recently, Carnoustie, Tiger has faded. In the most recent example, Woods held the lead with nine holes to go at the Open Championship. He quickly made a double bogey and bogey to end his chances.
Even in yesterday’s third round, Woods couldn’t quite make one of his patented charges. At the Open, it was his tee ball that let him down. Yesterday, it was the putter. I suppose you could attribute both of those things to nerves, or rust, or fatigue, but whatever it is, it’s becoming more apparent that there is an issue.
During the third round, Woods had six birdie chances from inside 20 feet on the back nine alone. How many did he make? ZIPPY. This even includes the soul crushing, gut punch of the 17th hole. With a chance to finally get something going, Woods was safely aboard on the par-5 17th with a real chance at eagle. The eagle putt from 20 or so feet slipped by. Inexplicably, Tiger missed the comebacker and made a par.
Call me crazy, but this is not the Tiger Woods I am used to seeing. Sure, it’s possible the step-on-the-throat, make-it-when-it-really-matters Tiger doesn’t exist anymore. This is a guy who is now 42 and on the back nine of his career. We need to remind ourselves that we are lucky to be witnessing Tiger playing golf at this level at all. But it still stings. The moment on the 17th green encapsulated this Tiger comeback. He may be back on Tour, but it’s also possible we might not see the Tiger we are accustomed to ever again.
Can he win today? Sure. I never thought Jordan Spieth would lose his lead at this year’s Masters. Same with DJ at the US Open. So I guess anything is possible. If Tiger does hoist the Wannamker Trophy this evening, it will mean he did something he’s never done in any of his 14 major victories: come from behind. The four shots to make up may seem like a lot, but maybe Tiger can summon some of that magic that has been absent from this comeback tour.