This time last year at the Hero World Challenge Tiger Woods wasn’t sure what his golf future held, he was just happy to be able to swing a golf club. Woods was a 41-year-old golfer coming back from his fourth back surgery that would have forced most of his contemporaries into retirement.
A year later Woods completed a Comeback Player of the Year type season, and this week is a 9/1 pick to win the Hero World Championship, behind Justin Rose at 7/1, and Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, both at 8/1.
Where gamblers in the past were putting money on Woods hoping he would win, now they are seeing tangible evidence that he can win. He is now No. 13 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
From Playing to Competing
Last year at the Hero World Challenge Woods finished ninth in the 18-golfer invitational. It was probably the first time Woods was satisfied finishing in the middle of the pack.
“I’m excited,” Woods said afterward. “This is the way I’ve been playing at home, and when I came out here and played. I was playing very similar to this. Not quite hitting it as far, but I had the adrenaline going and, overall, I’m very pleased.”
His first event of 2018 was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, the site of his last major championship victory, the 2008 US Open. He struggled, but finished 23rd overall. Woods missed the cut the following week at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, and his first event in Florida was a tie for 12th at the Honda Classic.
He gave fans a glimpse of what was to come later in the year when he finished second at the Valspar Classic in March. Later in the year he would finish second at the PGA Championship, then win the Tour Championship, his first victory since 2013. It was his 80th PGA Tour victory, but definitely will be one of his most memorable.
“Probably the most rewarding, because there was a point … I just didn’t know if I would ever do this again,” Woods said. “You always hear me say, ‘It’s a process.’ But if you look at this entire year, it literally was a process. You saw me have flashes, and then I would rework a few things here and there. Toward the end of the year, I just became more and more consistent as a tournament player again.”
Old Player Learns New Tricks
What Woods had to come to grips with was that he wasn’t a young man anymore, especially in golf years. Trying to compete with the same game as Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy, who utilized the power game Woods once had, was not going to allow the now 42-year-old to win. He had to learn how to play smarter not harder.
It will be a strategy Woods will employ in 2019. He admitted on Tuesday to reporters that last season wore him out.
“It’s not the same. It never will be. I’ll never feel that again,” Woods said. “To be what, 28-years-old? Physically, I’ll never be like that. So expectations are different than they used to be, for sure. Now, can I still win? Can I still compete? Yes. Can I do it for the next 20 years? No. Because that’s not realistic.”
Winning through quality over quantity is a new mantra for Woods, one that he has eagerly accepted.