Tiger Woods' rough week sputters to a close
You know, it’s always tough being the host of the party. You’ve got to make sure everyone’s having fun, you’ve got to make sure everything’s in order, you’ve got to try to shoot under par …
Tiger Woods finished out a rocky week at his tournament, the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, in frustrating fashion, shooting one over for the afternoon and one under for the week. He “dueled” with Hideki Matsuyama for dead last place in the tournament.
If there’s anything to be taken from Sunday’s round, it’s that Woods birdied four of five holes in the back nine to salvage something from the round. He made the turn in a four-over 40, a run that was stunning only because it was quite the shift from the highly competent, 13th-ranked Woods we’ve seen in 2018.
“It was not very pretty on that front nine,” Woods said after the round. “I kept making mistake after mistake. That was my goal, to get to under par on the back nine, and I almost pulled it off.”
Is it time for Woods to worry?
Should Woods worry about this result? Of course not. This was a blip, nothing more. Woods said he got sick after playing Phil Mickelson in The Match, and the combination of that and hosting duties wore him out. Not only that, Woods is recognizing that what worked for him back in the glory days isn’t quite working anymore.
“The desire hasn’t changed, [but] the body’s sometimes unwilling to respond to what the mind wants,” he said. “That’s part of the injuries I’ve had and the aging process.”
This is the last time we’ll see Woods play on tour this year. He’s not locked into any tournaments until the Genesis Open in mid-February, and it’s clear he could use a bit of a break. But considering where he was at this point last year to where he is now, this year can’t be anything less than a near-total success.
“It was an incredible year,” Woods said. “To go from where I was at this point last year to where I’m at now. Just so blessed and so thankful to have everything turn my way.”
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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