On the 11th (Korean time), Tiger Woods (48, USA) made a surprise announcement that he would participate in the Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars) hosted by his foundation. It was about returning to the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour after 7 months since the Open Championship, a major tournament in July of last year. It has been 2 years and 4 months since the Jojo Championship in October 2020 as a non-major tournament. Four days later, Woods, who attended the official press conference for the Genesis Invitational held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, said, “If he thought he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t be in the tournament. He would have just been faithful to the role of host,” he said in a strong tone.
The ‘golf emperor”s every move was a hot topic. The fact that Woods completed 16 holes ‘on foot’ in seven months at the Pro-Am drew great attention. Walking rather than swinging was the biggest homework for Woods, who has been working hard on rehabilitation after being seriously injured in a car accident in 2021. Woods warmed up before dawn the next day and teed off early in the morning. The fact that he was less limp than before was enough to raise expectations.
I can’t use 100% of my leg and back strength, but my ball speed is 180 mph
In 1992, when Woods competed in his first PGA Tour event at the Riviera at the age of 16, many golf pundits were said to have been shocked by his silky-smooth swing tempo. This year, Woods surprised in a different way. Most of his ball speeds were in the 170s and even over 180s. He was also ahead of Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Justin Thomas (USA), the best long hitters on the PGA Tour. He is an athlete who, until two years ago, doubted whether he would ever be able to walk again, exudes tremendous strength.
US Golf.com pointed out, “Woods has always been a player who makes the most of his swing, but he is a little different this time.” This is because it is not easy for him to explode his powers at once due to a leg injury from a car accident. However, if you rely too much on your core for speed, you risk injuring your back, which has undergone several surgeries. “He’s been using reaction force to push off the ground, but he can’t do that anymore, so he’s shooting with pure core power,” Woods said. However, this is also not easy because of back problems. He can hit the ball harder, but he has honed how to swing carefully.”
Golf experts said, “The width of the stance was reduced in order not to strain the lower body, and it seems that the change was made so that the upper body-oriented swing was made as much as possible without excessive weight shift.” If you gave it, you can’t do that now because of a right knee injury, so you use a downswing as if your right leg is being dragged,” he analyzed.
Compared to the previous swing, in which the upper and lower body were separated and swing with powerful waist rotation, the amount of rotation was reduced, and at the finish, it was corrected with an upper body-oriented swing that erects the upper body. 카지노
Eagle ‘good’ that almost became an albatross… An over-the-top joke ‘Bad’
In the first round held on the 17th, Woods scored 2 under par 69 with 5 birdies and 3 bogeys. He hit his driver tee shot 338 yards and made three birdies in a row on holes 16 to 18 at the last minute, announcing the return of the emperor. To see Woods tee off at 12:04 p.m. local time, crowds gathered to see Woods, and when Woods appeared for a tee shot, they chanted ‘Tiger’. When Woods was introduced, there was a rare scene where everyone was unable to clap their hands because they were holding their mobile phones high with both arms to take pictures and videos.
Although he lost 3 strokes in the 2nd round, he managed to pass the cut after 9 months with a tie for 58th place, and in the 3rd round, he hit 4-under-par 67 with 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 1 bogey, and raised his ranking by 32 steps. He is tied for 26th with a total of 3-under-par 210. Woods also expressed satisfaction, saying, “It’s the best I’ve played since the Masters.” In particular, in the second half of the first hole (par 5), an iron shot with 191 yards left hit the front of the green and rolled near the hole, creating a great scene that almost became an albatross.
Before his perfect comeback, he even acted like pouring cold water on him. When the scene of him giving his close friend Justin Thomas (USA), who was his companion player, a ‘tampon’, a female menstrual product, was released, it was difficult to avoid criticism of “disappointing behavior that insulted women.” When his tee shot flew farther than Thomas, he joked to make fun of it, but controversy arose as the scene spread through social media (SNS). “It was a joke, not a bad intention,” he apologized, saying, “I’m sorry if I offended anyone in any way.”
However, in the past three days, Woods’ performance seems to exceed concerns. Proclaiming that he would participate in five to six tournaments this year, more than last year, he gave the green light to participate in the Masters, the first major tournament of the season to be held in April.