Tiger Woods admits surprise weakness to game after making comeback at Hero World Challenge
Woods is eight shots off the pace set by Brian Harman and Tony Finau in the Bahamas
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tiger Woods felt sore “everywhere” after making his comeback at the Hero World Challenge on Thursday but the 15-time major winner could not hide the smile on his face after his first competitive round since April.
Woods was eight shots off the pace set by Brian Harman and Tony Finau in the Bahamas, dropping four shots in three holes between the 15th and 17th to finish three over par in a share of 18th place.
But for the 47-year-old, it felt good to blow off some cobwebs after undergoing ankle surgery in April.
“I’m sore, there’s no doubt about that,” Woods said. “We’ve got some work to do tonight. Tomorrow get back in the gym and activate and get ready for it. Hopefully hit some better shots.
“And now I know mentally what I need to do better. I think that’s something that physically I knew I was going to be OK. Mentally, I was really rusty and made a lot of errors in the mind that normally I don’t make.”
Asked where he felt sore, Woods added: “Everywhere…My leg, my back, my neck. Just from playing, hitting shots and trying to hold off shots. It’s just different at game speed, too. Game speed’s a lot different than at home speed.”
Woods birdied the third and fifth holes, but bogeys on the fourth and sixth immediately cancelled those out. He put the mental errors he made down to a lack of rhythm after so long out.
“Instead of reacting to it, I was thinking about doing it,” he said. “Then as I was thinking about it, should I do this or not, by then I’m pulling the trigger. I shouldn’t really pull the trigger. Hit a bad shot. I kept doing it time and time again.
“It was a lack of commitment to what I was doing and feeling. I’ve got to do a better job of it…
“I wanted to compete, I wanted to play. I felt like I was ready to compete and play. I hit it solid most of the day. As I said, I just didn’t mentally do the things I normally would do and I need to do.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments