Tiger Woods didn’t exactly have a good start to his pro-am appearance at the BMW Championship yesterday. He did his usual pre-round routine, spending some on the range before teeing off, but his relative rust still showed. It was hardly unexpected, to be sure; including last week’s aborted stint at The Northern Trust, he has played just 234 holes since claiming the Masters last April. Nonetheless, it didn’t augur well for the Presidents Cup captain who looked to turn the back half of the FedEx Cup Playoffs into a successful bid for a spot on the team also as a player.
Creditably, Woods turned his round around after his first shot found the fairway bunker. Even as he didn’t really stripe one off the tee until the fifth hole of the pride of Medinah Country Club, he showed his sharpness just about everywhere else on the course. The result was a promising four-under-par score on the front nine, during which he also got in extra chips and putts in front of adviser Matt Killen. He then elected to pick his spots the rest of the way, as much a reflection of his preparation as of the precautions he needed to take in order to stay fit for actual competition.
As Woods explained in his presser, he “took the back nine off, chipped and putted quite a bit.” And, he was happy to add, his back felt “way better … Definitely doesn’t feel like it did on Friday,” when he had to withdraw from playing at Liberty National due to an oblique strain. Which, in a nutshell, means he’s confident of his chances at Medinah, where, not coinci “good memories,” he noted, while adding that “the golf course is a lot bigger. It’s a lot longer than I remember. They’ve certainly lengthened it since ‘99 and ‘06 (when he won two of his four PGA Championships), and when we played here in [‘12 for the Ryder Cup].”
Considering Woods’ goal of suiting up in red, white, and blue inside the ropes at the Presidents Cup, he will need to not just improve on his recent showing; projections compel him to finish no lower than 11th to qualify for the Tour Championship next week, a must if he wants to rack up points for an automatic selection to Team USA. “I’m hoping to put myself in the top eight. Right now, I’m seeded 12th, and I’m trying like hell to make the team on my own, to be part of the core group of guys.”
In this regard, here’s the good news: Woods is confident of his chances. “It was nice to take those days off. I just had to let [my back] calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it. And [now] it feels so much better.” Meanwhile, here’s the not-so-good news: Even assuming his body cooperates for the entire weekend, he will still need to execute his plan. And walking the walk at the pink of health isn’t a certainty given his lack of reps. “I’m trying to win this tournament just like anybody else in this field … and, hopefully, I can make that happen.”
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
