Tiger Woods works way up leaderboard at Hero World Challenge

NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods had just signed for a second-round 66 and done all his interviews when he decamped for the short-game practice area at Albany Golf Club.

He’d gone seven for seven in scrambling to get within six of leader Patrick Reed (66) at the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event he has won five times. But that wasn’t enough. With caddie Joe LaCava and a couple of security guards standing by, he hit pitch after pitch with the sun low in the sky. A handful of fans stood outside the ropes, watching him work.

The moment was a reminder that whatever else Woods is – tournament host this week, captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup Team next week, 44 years old later this month, catalyst for the ONE Bahamas Fund to support relief and rebuilding efforts for those affected by Hurricane Dorian – he is still, unmistakably, a player. He’s at 82 official PGA TOUR victories, and 15 major championships, and he is very, very serious about nudging those totals upward still in 2020.

“I just think it was less windy,” he said of his score being six shots better than the day before. “It was a little bit easier today. Scoring conditions were a little bit better.

“I didn’t hit the ball as well as I would like starting out, missed a few greens,” he added. “Other than No. 2, I missed all the – every green in the correct spot, so I had easy chips and I had to make a couple. But I got it going on that back nine, which is nice.”

Woods made eagle at the par-5 11th hole, birdied three of the next five holes, and managed to par the difficult 18th, which he’d double-bogeyed the day before.

His sharpness comes as no surprise, given that he won the ZOZO Championship in his last start (No. 82), but it is a comfort, knowing that at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne he will be the U.S. Team’s first playing captain since 1994. He was on the short game area at Albany for over an hour, and one sensed it was serving dual purposes.

Related: Leaderboard | Reed leads after second-round 66 | Els to go with gut on Woods' singles matchup

Yes, Woods was working on his game, but he was also in a sort of contemplative bubble amid the swirl of activity that is his life. When will he play? When will he captain? Which of his assistants (Steve Stricker, Fred Couples, Zach Johnson) will he deputize to fulfill the captain’s role while he’s out there between the ropes with a club in his hand?

As he hit pitch after pitch, such questions could wait.

“Yeah, I’m playing a minimum of two,” he’d told reporters, when asked how many matches he would play. “Does that help you?” He smiled, and everyone laughed along. (All team members must play twice, at minimum.) The laughter died down.

“We have gameplans for next week,” he continued. “We've got guys that haven't played. DJ's coming off an injury, a surgery. We're going to take it day by day, see how guys feel. We're going to communicate with one another and work through it.”

Was it good to see captain’s pick Reed playing so well? Yes, Woods said, adding that he was doing so with a new set of irons and new putter this week. Are players already experimenting with each other’s golf balls for the foursomes at Royal Melbourne? Yes, again.

How has his game improved since getting surgery on his left knee in August?

“I can drive the ball a little bit better because I can rotate,” he said, “and I can putt the ball better because I can get down and read putts again.”

His game, he added, felt sharp coming into the Hero, and it still does.

“His swing right now is so smooth,” said Bubba Watson (73, 1 over total), who played with Woods in the second round. “It’s pretty nice to watch.”

With so many variables in play this week and next, and so many question marks going into the Presidents Cup, Woods can count on the one thing that’s almost always carried him through: His game is there.