St Andrews Magazine Edition 04

Then he teed it up in
somewhat of a home
game at The Honda
Classic, and Tiger fever
was well and truly alive.
Rounds of 70, 71, 69
and 70 saw him finish in
a tie for 12 th place, and
at times it seemed he
could finish even
higher. A few loose
shots in the Bear Trap
ended his challenge for
the title, but people
were starting to talk of
Tiger ‘being back’.
After missing the WGC-
Mexico Championship
he played the Valspar
Championship for the
first time in his career,
and the locals showed
up in record numbers
to witness a truly
special week. An
opening round of 70 set
him up for an unlikely
tilt at the tournament
and rounds of 68 and
67 put him firmly in
contention on Sunday.
An early birdie got the
crowd going, but he
couldn’t find another
until the 17 th , and
came to the final hole
needing birdie to force
a playoff. His approach
to the 72 nd wasn’t close
enough and he missed
out by a shot. But this
was huge progress,
and much faster than
anyone had
anticipated.
He was set for a return
to a place which he
had dominated in the
past. It was Tiger’s first
appearance at Bay Hill
since the passing of
Arnold Palmer, and
until the 16 th tee on
Sunday he was right
there with a chance to
add yet another victory
to his incredible
resume.
But his driver once
again let him down,
with a snap hook out of
bounds, allowing a
surging Rory McIlroy to
claim the title.
Winless he remained,
but Tiger was once
more front and centre
of the golfing world.
This only helped to add
to the sense of
anticipation for his
return to Augusta.
However, it would not
be the week for Tiger to
add a fifth green
jacket. He finish in a tie
for 32 nd and never
really featured in the
contest for the first
major of the year.
Solid performances
followed at Quail
Hollow, Sawgrass and
Muirfield Village before
a missed cut at
Shinnecock Hills in the
US Open. Half-way
through the season
Woods had displayed
several signs he could
once again contend at
the highest level.
Then at Carnoustie it
oh-so-nearly came
together, as he took
the lead with 8 holes to
play on Sunday. A
sloppy double-bogey
on the 11 th put paid to
his chances, but the
atmosphere of a Tiger
charge was back, and
this gave him the
confidence to head to
the year’s final major
believing he could
produce the
unthinkable.
And at Bellerive it so
nearly happened.
He started slowly, 3-
over-par after two
holes, but he rallied to
post an opening round
of 70 and then two
rounds of 66 had him
sitting four shots adrift
of the leader Brooks
Koepka.
Sunday would be a
thrilling final day, with
many players having
the chance to lift the
Wanamaker Trophy,
and for the first time
Woods was right in the
heat of the battle. Four
birdies on either nine
saw him post his lowest
ever final round in a
major, the atmosphere
was electric as he
surged to a round of
64, finishing two off
Koepka.