Tiger Woods almost didn鈥檛 tee off for the Pro-Am round of The Northern Trust yesterday. Delayed by around half an hour due to inclement weather, it didn鈥檛 seem like a good idea for him following a mediocre practice session. After some thought, however, he opted to get some reps in at 7,370-yard, par-71 Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey, anyway. No doubt, improved conditions coupled with the warm temperature spurred him to much-needed action. And for a while there, he appeared to do all right — until, that is, his back appeared to act up after a wayward drive.
Woods would wind up playing just half the course and picking his spots to work on his short game the rest of the way. He didn鈥檛 even seem to put a lot of effort in what he was doing on the back nine, leading quarters to speculate on his physical state. As things turned out, he was, indeed, suffering from back problems, albeit nothing out of the new normal for him. 鈥淛ust feeling stiff, being smart about it,鈥 he explained in his presser. 鈥淲hat I did pre-Augusta, where I chipped and putted for nine holes. Same thing.鈥
Interestingly, Woods contrasted his iffy experience with a much better one the day before. 鈥淎s I鈥檝e said to you guys all year, this is how it is. Some days, I鈥檓 stiffer than others. Yesterday, I was out there hitting it great. Driving it out there with Brooksy [Koepka] and D.J. [Johnson]. Today, I鈥檓 stiff. Hopefully, I鈥檓 not that way [in the first round].鈥 Simply put, he has no choice but to take things from day to day; despite having drastically cut back on his schedule, he remains uncertain as to how his body will fare on any given outing.
Not surprisingly, Woods isn鈥檛 among the favorites to emerge victorious. He isn鈥檛 even in bookies鈥 Top 10. His uneven showing on the course and a dearth of tournament appearances since he won the Masters in April have him at 30-to-one odds. All the same, he鈥檚 bent on competing and out to, in his words, 鈥渇eel that type of tiredness where I have a chance to win. That鈥檚 a good feeling.鈥 And should be qualify for the Tour Championship, he鈥檚 bent on subjecting himself to a third straight week of golf. 鈥淵es, there is concern,鈥 he disclosed. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 trying to get myself where I鈥檓 in contention, where, yeah, it takes a toll.鈥
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
