Tiger: There's still a lot of work in this comeback
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- He was in D.C. for a little AT&T National business a few weeks ago when he got a call asking if he had time to drop by for a few minutes just to say hi and catch up. Well, kinda, sorta catch up. Think of it as tweeting face-to-face. Just the facts. No long stories or serious details.
But there would be a camera involved. The official White House camera.
Tiger Woods, of course, said yes. You don't turn down the President. Or your first chance to see the Oval Office.
"It's a little bit smaller than you might think,'' he said, flashing that grin. "Granted, I mean, when it was built. You see it in the movies and everything, but it's a little bit different to see it in person.''
And, no, Barack Obama didn't ask for a loan.
"He's obviously very busy,'' Tiger smiled. " It was awfully nice to have him make out just a little bit of time to say hello. And overall, I mean, they had the White Sox there and I was able to meet with him for a couple of minutes. But the guy is busy. He's got a few things on his plate right now.''
So does Tiger.
And while it's hardly as complicated and complex as Obama's daily litany -- a fragile economy, Pakistan, Afghanistan, healthcare, offshore tax havens, Supreme Court appointments, budgets, North Korea and immigration to recite the Cliffs Notes version -- it's got enough layers to keep Tiger stuck in second gear.
What's wrong with Tiger?
Yes, five tournaments into The Comeback -- and THE PLAYERS on tap this week -- inquiring minds and voices are pouncing.
One win. Two couldas in the last two events. Four total top 10s. One tie for 17th, that in his one-win-and-out at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship (he lost 4 and 2 to Tim Clark). Impressive by most standards. Less than average by the Tiger Invincibility Index we've created, which is still slightly below his own.
No one could have expected him to go 5-for-5 on a new knee. He really is human and when you're out of competition that long, you have some rust. Your edge isn't quite razor-sharp. Your game doesn't magically pick up where it left off. Neither does your timing. Neither does your competitive strength, which is much different than in-the-gym reps.
That knee may be 100 percent, but Tiger still has work to do. He'll tell you as much. We're not even looking at the A-minus game yet.
Last week? Maybe a C+ or a B-minus.
He putted great at Bay Hill, didn't hit it as well, but won. He hit it great at The World Golf Championships-CA Championship, but couldn't putt. And Phil Mickelson outdrove him at the Masters.
"I kept having to wait for him to hit, sure,'' Mickelson said, drawing a laugh.
Last week, he was missing it right early at the Quail Hollow Championship and both ways -- equal opportunity misses -- by the weekend. And there were those three three-putts.
"You take those away and I'm right there,''' he said. "You can hit look at it, I hit it all over the place and I didn't hit my irons that well. But I wasn't that far away from winning the golf tournament.''
Three shots from a playoff -- four from winning outright -- if you're counting. And while we're at it . . . he's ranked 91st in Greens in Regulation, a category he's led the past three years.
Now he's taking on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass -- a second-shot course -- where he has a PLAYERS win, one runner-up and one other top 10 in 11 tries. And, oh, a U.S. Amateur. A really average -- for him -- record.
He doesn't own this one the way he does Torrey Pines, Blue Monster, Firestone or Bay Hill . Six wins on each of them, at last count. And then there's Muirfield Village when he's won five.
Here? Well, it's not any of the above. He calls it tricky.
"It's not just visually, but also if the wind blows here,'' he said. "It can be very, very tricky to play.''
It doesn't help, either, that he hasn't really hit the ball well here since he won in 2001.
"I did, the last year I played it (2007), I did, but couldn't make a putt,'' he said. "But it's been, as just kind of typical how this year has been; I haven't really put all the pieces together, and you have to have that in order to win this tournament. It's very similar to a major championship. You have to have all the pieces. You can't hit the ball well and not putt well or vice versa. You have to have everything going together at the same time.''
Right now, he doesn't. But he is keeping things interesting. He's been there with a chance every week.
Frustrating? At times, we're sure it has been. But he's moving toward the light. He's had the patience of Job with this comeback and it's demanded it.
"I'm starting to feel a little bit better,'' he said. "I think that's probably been the surprising thing is how long it takes. I've had knee surgeries before, and you pop right back, because obviously they weren't as extensive as what I've been through.''
The important thing, to him, is there haven't been any setbacks. No swelling. No pain. No omigosh moments. Just steady improvement.
Now, if only the pop and speed would come back.
"It's just I've been away from the game for a long time,'' Tiger said. "And it's going to take a little bit of time before my body gets back to where I can hit the ball the same distances. I don't hit the ball the same distance with my irons or my driver. But it's coming. Each and every week I'm getting a little better.
"And the body is starting to get a little more comfortable with everything. When you're away for that long, and I have a whole new leg, it's going to take a little time.''
Maybe we need a little patience too. Put the Tiger Invincibility Index away for the moment. Give him some time to get the puzzle put together and for his game to catch up with his knee.
He's adding something new to the equation this week since he'll be playing back-to-back events for the first time in 14 months -- since last year's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the CA Championship when he won the former and finished fifth in the latter.
"That's the unknown,'' he said. "That's one of the challenges we were looking at at the beginning of the year, is how are you going to do back to back, because obviously we didn't know. And as I said, I haven't had any setbacks so far this year. That's a big thing going into my second week playing in a row. You would think that's no big deal, but to me it is.''
Especially here.
Just last week, NBC's Johnny Miller said Tiger's best chance to win here was to keep his driver in his bag like he did when he won the 2006 Open Championship at Hoylake. Tiger said, uh, no.
"We've got par 5s out here; you've got to be able to use it,'' Tiger said. " . . . So if Johnny says you can't hit drivers on 9 and 11, you're giving up two opportunities to get close to the green. ''
Miller did say almost, advising Tiger should hit mostly 3-wood stingers like he did at Hoylake.
Almost? Mostly? Well, if his driver continues to misbehave -- he tried new shafts last week, but went back to the old driver for the weekend -- the 3-wood might be an option. Emphasis on might.
The bottom line? Tiger is patiently working his way back. The new knee is one step, juggling a full family -- two-year-old Sam, 3 month-old Charlie, wife Elin and the two dogs -- is another.
"Now I understand. I truly understand, over the past almost two years now how badly you want to get home and be with them,'' he said. "That's something you can't imagine how that feels until you actually go through it. People can describe it to you, but you can't until you actually feel it."
Like we said, he's got a full plate -- driver, short game, timing, pop and family -- and patience far beyond that of the inquiring minds who are pouring over every stat imaginable, searching for an answer.
But Tiger? He's not worried. No matter what game he brings this week, he knows he'll take another step in the comeback and give himself another chance to win. Which, when you're Tiger on a new knee, that's all you can ask.
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