Tiger Woods, in his first start after the Covid shutdown of 2020, was struggling.
Then wasn’t. After a respectable 71 during the Memorial’s first round, he was six-over through 15 holes in round two, only to finish birdie, birdie, par, leading to a made cut — and a thought.
Did he consider himself a grinder?
Really? Woods? The 15-time major winner? The 82-time PGA Tour winner? A scrapper? A ham-and-egger?
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“Always have,” Woods said.
And apparently still does.
This week, as part of a curtain-raising for its plush, new multimedia digs, the PGA Tour released a video of Woods touring the campus, and most of it was Woods’ fan catnip. There were highlights and commentary about his win at the 2018 Tour Championship. There were highlights and commentary about his chip-in at the 2001 Players Championship. There were highlights and commentary about his fist pump. There were highlights and commentary about his 82 Tour wins.
During the latter, though, Woods offered this:
— He felt he putted “really well” only twice in his career — at the 1997 Masters and at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He won both convincingly — the margin of victory at those events are tournament records. (He won by 12 at the Masters, and by 15 at the U.S. Open.)
— He felt the “best” he ever hit it in his career was at the 2000 Open Championship at St. Andrews, where Woods won by eight. “I felt like I had the ball on a string and I could do anything that I wanted to,” Woods said on the video.
— He felt at most of his events, he “didn’t really have it.”
Really? Woods? The 15-time major winner? The 82-time PGA Tour winner?
