It was a riveting four days in the Bahamas at Albany Golf Club, with a memorable Sunday that set the tone for the 2018 season on the PGA Tour.
- Here are four takeaways from the action:
1. Tiger is back…but only as long as his back will allow.
Tiger Woods is emphatically back…for now. If you watched the action over this past week in the Bahamas, you saw what we all saw and wanted to see – a Tiger with a healthy body that would allow him to play the way we all remember him capable of playing when he was dominating the scene for two decades.
The tourney host was ripping his drives long and especially straight. He out-drove bombers like Justin Thomas with regularity, who didn’t seem to mind watching the show put on by the old man.
The swing speed was outstanding and the ball speed was off the charts, allowing him to feature a variety of different shots. From driving the green with high launchers to controlled knock down, three quarter shots from 150 yards and in, he had control of his swing for three of the four days. He got a bit loose on Saturday when the winds were up with five bogeys in the first 10 holes, but battled back nicely with two birdies coming down the stretch to save the round like the Tiger of old.
He polished off the event on Sunday with a solid 68 that could’ve been 66, finishing T-9, tied with or ahead of some of the world’s best players such as Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka. At one point, he was LEADING the tournament on Day 2. Think about that for a moment. A month ago, nobody was sure if he would ever compete on tour again.
Now we can look forward to more of this:
But it was his short game that was the biggest question mark coming into the event, and after a couple chunks in the first round, he got control of his chipping off the tight, grainy lies at Albany Golf Club, stiffing it often, and holing numerous putts when there was undesired meat left on the bone.
And the shot of the week for me? Well, there were so many to choose from, but this chip he hit FROM the green was one of the best shots you will see all year. 10 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. Maybe 12 out of 10, if that was such a thing.
Do not try this at home.
Results may vary. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/Knl9bAWBTv
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 1, 2017
You only play this shot if you have supreme confidence, and that’s what Tiger displayed nearly all week – confidence in his game, which is exactly what he will need going forward.
But the X-factor will of course be his reconstructed back.
For me it’s pretty simple: If he stays pain free, he will win several more times and at least one more major. And that doesn’t even feel like a bold call after the way he played this past week. If I was Jack Nicklaus, or any of the other hopeful young guns on tour, I’d be getting a little nervous right now. A healthy Tiger can be a very dangerous animal.
But bad backs are fickle things. As a long time sufferer with disc trouble myself, it is hard to imagine that his body won’t abandon him again at some point. Only time will tell. For now, just sit back and enjoy the comeback.
2. Charlie Hoffman feels the heat with the lead against the world’s best.
The Hoff played some great golf for the first three days, highlighted by a stellar 63 in Round 2, and had built a five shot lead on Sunday.
But then he heard footsteps.
Hoffman is a player who is normally quite adept from tee to green but his game suffered on Sunday as the tension mounted.
He missed several greens and routinely failed to get it close from around the greens, often using a wood to get up and down instead of trusting his wedges.
Feeling Sunday heat is nothing new to Hoffman however. In last year’s Masters, he had the lead going into the final day, only to succumb to the pressure and close with 78.
“Anytime you get in the lead no matter where you are, you gotta handle your nerves,” Hoffman said after he finished his 3rd round in the Hero. Clearly that was on his mind during the final round as well.
Charley will have to learn to battle those demons if he wants to find the winner’s circle more often.
3. The world number one is enjoying his offseason.
Dustin Johnson capped a disappointing week, finishing at even par, tied for 14th.
He was never able to get much going outside of an opening 68.
Whether he is just coasting through his offseason or if those yachts parked near the course were just too distracting, its tough to say.
But I have no doubt The Big Saunter will be ready to go for the 2018 calendar year and I fully expect him to be a part of the discussion in the majors. He will be especially looking forward to the Masters, missing it last year due to a freak injury.
4. These guys are really good.
Every week, tour players do things that blow our minds and validate the PGA Tour’s slogan. But last week, one player in particular made it seem a little inadequate.
On Sunday, Rickie Fowler wasn’t just good, he was ridiculously good. He was seven shots off the lead to start his day, but right out of the gate Rickie caught fire. We’re talking like “call the fire department” fire. He opened with seven straight birdies, which included a hole out from a greenside bunker. He nearly had eight straight which would have been a personal best, but birdied the 9th to card a 28 on the front nine.
He said after the round that he knew he needed to get off to a fast start. I’d say mission accomplished.
He finished with a bogey free 61, setting a course record and blowing past Hoffman and the rest of the field for a four shot victory that felt more like a drubbing.
Rickie started the final round 7 under and finished 18 under…against the best in the world…on a Sunday. Isn’t that when the nerves are supposed to amplify? He was in complete control of his game and everything appeared so natural and effortless. He needed just 21 putts on Sunday to polish off the masterpiece.
A couple years back, he finished in the top-5 in all four majors and was in contention in a couple last year, but when the heat of the weekend crept in, his best golf was absent. But statistically, Rickie had his best year in 2017, finishing as the only player in the top-20 in both stokes gained tee to green as well as stokes gained putting. He was also number one in sand save percentage and number two in scoring average. He is first in the early goings this season at 67.21.
Ricky Fowler is accurately labeled the best player on tour without a major. Something tells me that title could very well be replaced with major champion.