May 10, 2018
Palm Harbor, FL—The shot heard ‘round the golf world happened at 11:37 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Second round of the Valspar Championship; unseasonably cool conditions in the sunshine state; by a player who less than a year ago didn’t know whether he’d ever be able to hoist his two children into the air again without a searing pain shooting from his lower back into his lower extremities, let alone swing a golf club again pain-free.
The shot wasn’t a Sarazenian-like hole-out from a fairway wood away. Nor did it have the drama of a gravity-induced, Nike swoosh slowly tumbling into the cup. But it had serious ramifications for a 42-year-old legend attempting to resurrect a playing career many, including him, had feared was finished.
The shot on the par-5 fifth hole (Tiger Woods’ 14th) was a mere five feet in length with a gentle break, but when it disappeared into the hole, a resurgent Woods had the outright lead in a PGA Tour event for the first time in God knows when (the Tour doesn’t track such minutia, but it confirmed that the last time Tiger had the lead after a round was the final 18 holes of the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, which he won.)
The putt lifted Tiger to five-under-par on the fabled Copperhead Course and broke a logjam with several other players at four-under, including first-round leader Corey Conners, who wouldn’t begin his second round for another two hours.
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There was no fist pump or demonstrative celebration from Tiger, just a nod to the cheering crowd acknowledging their shouts of joy. Apparently, everyone packed around the green knew the putt’s significance. Everyone, that is, except Woods himself.
“I just saw it at 4 (under) after I made bogey there on the last hole (No. 9, his 18th),” Woods said during the post-round interview when he was asked how it felt seeing his name atop the leaderboard. “I didn’t really see any leaderboards. By the time I looked up, it was already on (playing partners) Jordan (Spieth) or on Henrik (Stenson) and their putts or whatever they had to do. So I didn’t really see it out there.’’
A Monster Drive on the Par-4 Ninth
Woods had additional opportunities to pad his lead during the final four holes of the round, including a monster drive on the par-4 ninth that left him with a short-iron into the elevated green. Unfortunately, he made one of his few suspect swings on the day and pushed his approach shot well right of the green. The ball wound up in a woman’s bag.
The unforced error led to a bogey and a quick fall from solo possession of the lead.
The steady progress has Woods ahead of schedule and feeling good about his chances this weekend.
“I thought I had a chance at Honda with a few holes to go, but instead of making birdies coming in I made some mistakes,’’ he said. “But to play myself into contention this early into it was nice. And on top of that, to build on what I did a couple of weeks ago, I feel comfortable out there.’’
Not only is that music to the ears of the hordes following Woods this week, but the golf world is listening intently, too.
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Pete McDaniel is a veteran golf writer and best-selling author. His blogs and books are available at petemcdaniel.com
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