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Tiger Woods is back – but will it go with a swing?

With a new coach and claims of fitness restored, Woods makes his first appearance since August at his own event in Florida this week. However, writes Kevin Garside, doubts over his age and form will not go away

Kevin Garside
Tuesday 02 December 2014 21:05 GMT
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The four horsemen of the Tiger Woods apocalypse ride into view this week, presenting for scrutiny and judgment the latest and perhaps final phase of a great career.

Woods makes his first appearance since missing the cut at the final major of the season, the US PGA Championship, in August. A back condition that required surgery earlier in the year failed him after a premature return. He has since ditched his coach for a new model, Chris Como, who at 37 is almost two years younger than his boss.

So for pestilence, war, famine and death, read health, ability, coach (efficacy) and form – these are the criteria on which Woods will be judged when he tees up at his own charity event, the Hero World Challenge, which kicks off at Isleworth Golf Club in Florida tomorrow.

The elite, 18-man tournament is packed with top-end talent including Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson, a winner last time out in Dubai, and last week’s Australian Open champion Jordan Spieth.

Woods is unlikely to come back and run through that little lot at the first time of asking. It might be that he is unable to do so ever again.

This has been said before, of course. And what did Woods do? He gave us 2013, a season in which he won five times, all blue-riband tournaments to boot, returned to world No 1 and was voted golfer of the year, again.

Yet with the passing of the seasons the demands increase each time Woods climbs off the deck, as do the questions.

Firstly, is Woods restored to full health? Lumbar issues are notoriously difficult to treat in lay people. In professional golfers transmitting absurd forces through the hips, shoulders and lower back, they tend not to go away.

Woods has already had to amend his swing to take account of a reconstructed left knee that can no longer tolerate the torque he once uncoiled through impact. What further changes must he make now?

This feeds into the second issue of ageing ability. Woods turns 39 at the end of this month. The athleticism of his youth has been eroded. He can no longer rely on the rhythms, power and timing that brought him such plunder in the glory years.

If there is no physical consequence for the use of the putter, the blade that really separated him from the field at his peak, the question then becomes about the ability of his temperament to adjust, to cope with the diminished returns off the tee.

The evidence points to his putting faltering with the rest of his game, which suggests that the iron mental state that once willed the ball into the hole from anywhere inside 15 feet might have lost its power to bounce others out of the equation.

This brings us to the third element, his relationship with Como, a Texan biomechanics guru introduced to Woods by his old college spar Notah Begay. The previous incumbent and third major coach to work with Woods, Sean Foley, lasted four years. Like Hank Haney and Butch Harmon before him, Foley spoke of the unique challenge of coaching not only the game’s pre-eminent figure but a global sporting icon and golf’s commercial driving force.

“Until you go through it, there’s no way to explain it,” Foley said of the experience, suggesting that it bore little resemblance to the working environment he enjoys with the likes of Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan. Sentiments like “enjoy the ride” and “opportunity of a lifetime” sprinkled Foley’s observations.

Haney says experience is the key in making any relationship work with Woods, the inference being that Como’s lack of it might be a factor. “The hard thing with Tiger is that he’s not your average student. You may have great, great information, but to deal with somebody like Tiger, I think experience helps you, too,” Haney said.

“I had a lot of experience and Butch had a lot of experience, and both of us were really successful. It remains to be seen whether someone with great knowledge and information but less experience can get through to someone like Tiger Woods.”

All of which begs the question about the fourth component, form, and what is reasonable to expect from Woods, not only on his comeback but in the weeks and months leading to the first major of the season, the tournament where it all began for him back in 1997, the Masters.

Woods might never advance his collection of major victories beyond 14, assembled in the shortest period in history. The target remains 18, posted by Jack Nicklaus, whom many of the older generation still regard as the greatest of all time.

I once put it to Sam Torrance that Woods’ 14 might be the equal of the Nicklaus haul given the growing spread of talent in the field and the changes in equipment making it ever easier to reach the green with balls that fly forever. I still have the imprint of the Torrance boot on my rear.

Who knows how history might have recorded events had Woods’ ball missed the pin on the par-five 15th during the second round of the Masters last year? His approach was too good, rebounding off the flag stick into Rae’s Creek instead of coming to rest on the green. What would have been an eagle opportunity to take the lead outright became a triple-bogey eight with penalties attached.

Woods was fortunate to escape exclusion following his illegal drop. His equilibrium could not survive the kerfuffle that accompanied the process to keep him in the competition, and he gradually faded from view.

He has not contended since. The player who did most to fill the space during Woods’ moral timeout following the 2009 Thanksgiving Day massacre of his private life, Rory McIlroy, has re-established his credentials as the next great player in the game.

Though McIlroy is not in attendance this week, there is enough pedigree in the field to ensure there will be no soft landing. By virtue of his achievements Woods will always be a story, but can he be the story again? That apocalypse is upon us.

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WOODS' INJURY WOES

2006 Wins World Golf Championships with shoulder injury

Aug 2007 Damaged anterior cruciate ligament in left knee

April 2008 Knee surgery

June 2008 Reconstructive surgery on damaged ACL

2008-09 Suffers two tears of right Achilles tendon

May 2010 Neck injury

2011 MCL sprain and strained left Achilles tendon

March 2012 Pulls out of Cadillac Championship with Achilles tendon injury

March 2014 Back spasms cause Honda Classic withdrawal

April Misses Masters and Ryder Cup after back surgery

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