Well, that’s four days with the world in Trump’s hands and we’re still muddling on as usual. Even the hastily cobbled together ‘Protect and Survive’ panic bunker I fashioned from the blue wheelie bins in the back court of the tenement has tentatively reverted to holding stuffed piles of recyclable milk cartons, back copies of Cage & Aviary Birds Weekly and a variety of unread eviction notices. There was an almighty fuss about The Donald being sworn into office, a palaver this correspondent is all too familiar with given that I’m sworn into The Herald office on a daily basis as my shuffling, bedraggled appearance is greeted by a torrent of hissing profanities from my cursing colleagues. Talk about solemnly swearing.
Life goes on and here in the world of golf it’s time to see if Tiger Woods can make himself great again as he sets out on yet another comeback in the Farmers Insurance Open at his happy hunting ground of Torrey Pines. Yes, there was a comeback just before Christmas but that wasn’t really a comeback in the accepted sense of a comeback was it? It was more of a gentle easing in, the kind you perform when you slide and squeak your way into a bath tub when you’re not quite sure how hot the water is. That appearance in his own Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas was an ideal warm-up after 15 months on the sidelines. A limited field, a forgiving course, a cosy, merry, controlled environment? It was more like a carefree batter around the pitch and putt at Hogganfield Park. At the same time, though, there were plenty of positives to take from it and, despite the general rustiness, the fact he racked up the most birdies of any player during the week indicated that the the fires were still burning.
Prior to that, of course, the Tiger had roared his intent to all and sundry. “I’m not dead, I’m ready to go,” said the former world No 1 in a statement that sounded like something Lazarus would have uttered before teeing up in the Bethany Perpetual Rosebowl.
Over the next month or so, we will see if Woods is, indeed, ready to go. A rigorous schedule of four events in the space of five hectic weeks, and a fair bit of too-ing and fro-ing on the private jet between California, the Middle East and Florida, could either make him or break him. Many had predicted that he would slowly nurse himself into the campaign but he’s upped the ante with a rapid-fire quartet of events that, in addition to this week’s affair, includes the Dubai Desert Classic, the Genesis Open and the Honda Classic.
Having been struck down by what many suggested was “stage fright” just days before he was due to make his original return at the Safeway Open last October, Woods it seems now has the confidence, both physically and mentally, to launch into the next stage of his career with considerable gusto at the age of 41.
Given the natural order of things, many, quite understandably, will continue to insist there’s no way he’ll restore the majesty of old. The events the current world No 663 will be playing in over the next few weeks, and hopefully the rest of the season, will feature strong fields made up of the game’s main movers and shakers. And they are all, by and large, much younger and fitter than Woods. Winning again in this exacting environment will be a big ask but it’s the kind of demanding undertaking the 14-time major winner will no doubt relish.
What happens over the next month will give us plenty of insight. If his bothersome back emerges unscathed from this series of tournaments, then we can perhaps start judging Woods purely on his golf again.
AND ANOTHER THING
While the Scots contingent beat a rather sorry retreat from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday – the four home players left standing were a collective 10-over-par for the closing round – Englishman Tommy Fleetwood showed how to sign off from a tournament with the second European Tour win of his career after a spell in the doldrums. “I tried changing my swing because I thought it would make me a world-class golfer,” he said. “I was a bit naïve and I was a bit silly and just got going the wrong way.”
He’s not the first golfer, and he’ll certainly not be the last, to go searching for that something extra only to realise the basics that got them to where they were in the first place were the strength of their game. Fleetwood has been fortunate to find his form again. Others have never rediscovered it.
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