BY AAGD STAFF
(January 28, 2019)
“Got to have these little goals when I’m not in contention to win a tournament,” Woods said. “Still something positive to end the week on.”
With nothing to brag about, but seemingly Tiger Woods was glad to take whatever triumph he could uncover at Torrey Pines.
His objective Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where he began the last cycle 13 shots behind, was to achieve double digits under par. Woods birdied his last two openings for a 31 on the front nine of the South Course and finished at 10-under par.
Yet, this tournament was another small triumph, as it was his first time since 2008 that the former World #1 broke par during all four rounds at Torrey Pines. Woods’ round ended with a 5-under 67. It tied him for twentieth place.
As spectators watched around the world, it was obvious that it was never going to be easy for Woods to get a real gain on Justin Rose. However, Woods seemingly played well enough to somewhat feel positive about the beginning of his year. Rose won the tournament -21.
His execution at a competition that he has won multiple times was about equivalent to a year ago, when he shot 72 in the last round, on an a lot harder South course, and tied for 23rd. The thing that matters most here is his viewpoint of whatever remains of the year. This was only his second event since he won the Tour Championship on Sept. 23.
He was simply coming back to the PGA Tour from his fourth back medical procedure a year ago, and Woods says he didn’t know how his back was going to hold up the early part of the year, until the point where he made it to Florida with no physical injuries.
“I feel like I knocked some rust off, which was great this week,” Woods said. “Figured a few things out as the week was going along. I just felt like I got better each and every day. My rounds got cleaner, and that’s what I want to have happened. I’ll be ready in a couple weeks.”
Chatter overshadowing Woods’ tournament performance was the rumbling in the crowd of his Sunday golf shirt, which very closely was red-and-white stripes, however with enough little streaks in the red that from a spectator’s point of view looked strikingly pink. When Woods was asked about the color of his shirt, he said, “Yeah,” with a smile.
The Tour player is now headed home to Florida for two weeks to prepare for the Genesis Open at Rivera, where he missed the cut last year.
