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Tiger Woods: Hero World Challenge return solid, with room to grow

By Brandon Raper

NASSAU, BAHAMAS - NOVEMBER 30: Tiger Woods of the United States reacts to his birdie on the eighth green during the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, Bahamas on November 30, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS - NOVEMBER 30: Tiger Woods of the United States reacts to his birdie on the eighth green during the first round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany, Bahamas on November 30, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Tiger Woods wasn’t dominant in the first round of the Hero World Challenge, but there’s plenty of good to build on.

The atmosphere at the first tee of the Hero World Challenge was unlike most any other scene in golf. In a superstar-laden lineup, the crowd was waiting for just one man. Tiger Woods, after a fourth back surgery and nearly a year away from the sport, was back.

We’ve seen this story before, of course. Just a year ago, in fact, Woods was in this same boat. And really, after a ten-month layoff, what could we really expect?

As it turns out, we got some surprisingly good golf, along with a heathy dose of what I’ll refer to as “building opportunities”. It was a bit of a roller coaster, but there were significantly more ups than downs along the way.

The biggest takeaway is pretty clear. Woods got through all 18 holes without so much as a noticeable wince or grimace. We’re far from done, but there’s only so much you can glean from some carefully-selected videos on social media.

We got to see the Big Cat walk 18 holes of competitive golf, hitting powerful drives, stinging irons, and a couple shots from tough lies. He came away from all of these looking not only healthy, but frankly better than we’ve seen in well over a year. Whether you love Tiger or you’re just waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop, none of the typical red flags rose on Thursday.

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"“It was not only nice to get the first round out of the way, but also I’m only three shots out of the lead,” said Woods, who hit seven fairways, 12 greens and needed 28 putts. “So to be able to put myself there after not playing for — is it 10 months or so? — in the neighborhood of that, it was nice to feel the adrenaline out there.”"

Despite all the good from Thursday – five birdies and two bogeys left Woods three behind leader Tommy Fleetwood – it was far from perfect. He flubbed a handful of chips from tight lies, a problem that absolutely destroyed him in his last comeback attempt.

Woods also played the five par-5 holes at 1-over-par. Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler, tied for second with Matt Kuchar, both played them at 3-under. If Woods wants to make any type of run this weekend, he absolutely must score on those holes.

Now that the comeback jitters are out of the way, these next three days will tell us even more about Tiger’s readiness to come back. They’re baby steps, and we need to be patient, but his list of goals just got their first check. On to round two.

Next: Tiger Woods: Winning second to health at Hero World Challenge

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