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That’s it: Tiger Woods’ long-awaited comeback round is in the books – and a quietly impressive one it was at that.
The 14-time major champion shot a three-under-par 69 in the first round of the Hero World Challenge and, perhaps more importantly, showed no sign of injury or fatigue as he eased his way back into action.
That round has him sitting inside the top ten in the 18-man field – yes, there are other players teeing it up in the Bahamas – and here are four things we noted from Woods’ comeback round.
1. Promising signs off the tee
With the exception of the par-5 15th hole, where he pushed it way right resulting in one of two bogeys, it was a promising display off the tee for Woods.
Particularly impressive was his ball speed, which was frequently up around 180mph – among the top 20 on the PGA Tour for the 2017 season. “My fear was that his ball speed wouldn’t be up there,” said Denis Pugh in the Sky Sports studio. “If it isn’t up there, you can’t compete.”
Thankfully for Woods though, it was, as he regularly outdrove playing partner Justin Thomas with his drive on the short par-4 seventh receiving particular attention:
Pretty healthy rip for a guy with a fused lower back: pic.twitter.com/0v3A3BvGmM
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) November 30, 2017
2. ..and also with the putter
Woods didn’t show too much rustiness with the short stick either and looked especially impressive from the 15ft-20ft mark, contributing to his birdies on the eighth, tenth and 13th holes.
In total, he had just 27 putts. That would have him fourth in the Putts Per Round stat on the PGA Tour for 2018.
3. Chipping question marks remain
If there was anything to criticise Woods for in his comeback round, it was his chipping.
He made terrible contact with the ball on both the fourth and ninth holes – forcing an impeccable 15ft par save on the fourth hole but a bogey on the ninth.
Tiger's first hiccup of the day comes on No. 9.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 30, 2017
He bogeys to finish his front nine (-1).#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/5EKfP5Yaw3
4. But no one moves the needle like Tiger
While fans were understandably waxing lyrical about Woods’ comeback, do you think we’d see tour pros tweet like this about another fellow pro who wasn’t Tiger? Not a chance.
Here are some of the best tweets about his comeback:
Great seeing Tiger back in action he’s definitely great for the game of golf! Wishing @TigerWoods nothing but the best of luck! @TGRLiveEvents 🏆#HeroWorldChallenge
— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) November 30, 2017
Awesome to see the man @TigerWoods back playing!! What a legend!!! 🐯
— Branden Grace (@BrandenGrace) November 30, 2017
Is there anything better then watching @TigerWoods play golf again? #fistpumpsForDaysssss
— Jessica Korda (@Thejessicakorda) November 30, 2017
Tiger is the only player that can say "BE GOOD!" on the 3rd hole of the tournament and everyone loves it 💯🙌🏾
— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) November 30, 2017
Great to have you back @TigerWoods 🔥🔥🔥
We are all lucky to see Tiger back on the course tonight... enjoy everyone.
— Chris Wood (@Chris3Wood) November 30, 2017
Got to say, I am a little intrigued to watch a certain @TigerWoods play some Golf this evening... 🐯
— Bernd Wiesberger (@BWiesberger) November 30, 2017
Oh, and a couple of other sporting legends made sure they tuned in too…
Pumped to be watching @TigerWoods back out there!!!
— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) November 30, 2017
The wait is over. The wait is over. @TigerWoods
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 30, 2017
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