AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A day in the life of a frustrated man trying to reclaim his place, foraging for any piece of Masters muscle memory, was epitomized on the fourth hole of a tournament he once owned.
Tiger Woods birdied the third and began a 30-foot walk towards No. 4. A security guard cleared the path and Woods followed. His movement was steady and sure, just like Friday when he torpedoed the course. Woods stopped and next offered a quick glance at two smiling young blondes in short skirts. Practice swing. Practice swing. One more sly look at the ladies.
Then, the shot. It went blistering off target, the directional mechanisms of a scud, and a furious Woods simply dropped his driver onto the ground. The gallery took a deep breath and Woods quietly looked at his caddie, Steve Williams, and had a request.
"Gimme the sandwich," Woods said. Out it came and Woods rapidly removed the wrapper. Looked like something on whole wheat. Quick bite. A second bite. And then off he went.
Woods bogeyed that hole and his day, only hours removed from a relentless charge, was this time more chaotic. On the 10th, a woman fainted from the heat while watching Woods. Insert your metaphors, similes and parallels.
Woods didn't flounder but he didn't take advantage of his hot Friday, either, when he shot a 66. He was capable, not spectacular. He shot a two-over 74 and is at five-under for the event. He's within reach but considering Woods never has come from behind on the last day of a major his reach might need to be like Patrick Ewing's.
Woods was asked a simple question: can he still win this?
"Absolutely," he said.
Actually, in all likelihood, Tiger is toast. He won't win. True, he's chasing guys like Schwartzel and Choi, not exactly Nicklaus and Faldo but it's unrealistic to think Woods can put together another performance like the one he did the other day. And he likely would need to.
Rory McIlroy, for now, is backing up his arrogance. McIlroy looks like someone about to make a move from great potential to the next Tiger Woods.
If Woods does somehow pull off a miracle, we know Woods is truly back. If he doesn't, we can still question where his heart and head are because the old Woods would've taken this field and bent it over his knee.
The problem for Woods was putting. "I swung the club well all day," he said. "That wasn't the problem. As I said, two 3-putts and a bunch of putts that looked like they were going to go in, so it was just, I just didn't make anything on the greens."
Woods spent extra time after his round working on -- you guessed right -- his putting.
Say this for Woods: he was one of the lone pieces of entertainment on what was a tremendously boring Masters day overall. Really, the third day was nap time. This was croquet meets soccer.
Woods brought the excitement. On the second hole, after an errant shot, he mouthed the word "F---!" On 11, after a ball nearly landed in the trees, he said: "Oh, Woodrow. Damn!"
The galleries for Woods were also loud and Woods obsessed. On occasion, they were borderline obnoxious as the beer and heat smelted into an elixir that caused too many "get in the holes."
On the fifth hole Woods was perhaps his most energetic of the day as he back-peddled and punched the air after his putt stopped short of going in. On six was perhaps his best drive. On nine came a bathroom break as K.J. Choi waited patiently.
McIlroy deserves credit for steadiness as others bobbed and weaved all over the place like freshly caught snapper.
Woods is seven shots behind McIlroy. Can Woods catch him? Not even the old Woods could.
So why would this more flawed version.
No comments:
Post a Comment