The gang at the enormous, impressive TaylorMade exhibit were all smiles, giddy about the new family member early Thursday.
The 2017 PGA Merchandise Show was a huge platform for the execs and reps at TaylorMade, you could tell they were simply bonkers about having “Tiger Woods in the family.”
“He signed a four-year deal, he’s already working with us to design his own set of irons,” one exec was quick to tell us, his ear-to-ear smile showed that they considered this to be huge, maybe beyond huge.
And there was the huge image of the 14-time major champion, greeting the masses that meandered into TaylorMade Country there in Orlando’s massive convention center.
More than 2,340 miles away, the Apple Of TaylorMade’s eye was prepping for his first round at Torrey Pines. This was it, this was THE day, the first day of the comeback on a course he loves with some of that TaylorMade stuff in his bag. Woods only, no irons yet, his deal is for 13-clubs only, he gets to keep Scotty Cameron.
This was the day everyone had waited for. Albany was just a friendly resort course by Torrey South standards and Tiger’s little soiree there was a friendly gathering compared to what he faced in San Diego.
Thursday was for real with Woods thrown into the crucible with the world’s No. 1 and No. 3 and that would be Jason Day and Dustin Johnson respectively.
Perhaps the first hole was a harbinger of things to come for Woods on this “opening day” if you will. A missed fairway then a missed green led to a bogey five.
Eight pars later Woods turned one-over then got some wind in his sails with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11.
He was one-under but it had not come easily. Despite the field playing lift-clean-and-place, the wet ground was making Torrey Pines South even longer, even tougher. Yet there was Tiger, hanging tough, hanging in there with No. 1 and No. 3, no one in the group was tearing it up.
Then at the 12th hole it all starting coming undone for Woods and we’ll let him tell you what happened:
“I was fighting out there all day. I didn’t really hit it that good. I let it slip away in the middle of the back nine. We were playing slower than I’m used to. I was in the rough most of the day. I just didn’t quite get it done through the middle of the back nine. I fought my tail off.”
Woods didn’t get it done starting at the 12th when he began a run of three straight bogeys. Disaster struck at the more-than-tough 15th, 478 yards of nastiness with a huge ravine left of the fairway. It was there that Tiger met the ravine. His tee shot started left and went left and he dropped his driver in disgust just after impact. He’d end up with a double and things had quickly gone to hell in a hand-basket.
Another bogey at 17 left Woods staring at 40 for the inward nine. An eight-footer for birdie at 18 saved him from that. In the end, it all added up to 76. Day salvaged an even par round and D.J. was one-over.
The stats told the tale of struggle for Woods. Just four of 14 fairways and nine of 18 greens. That’s not the stuff that comebacks are made of.
Woods put on his brave face afterwards, was good with the media, truthful with himself and the day’s trials and tribulations.
He had it going for 11 holes, but it takes 18.
“It went the other way,” Woods said with a look of resignation on his face, a face that showed fatigue, the end product of the struggle and the fight with a swing that is no where near where he wants it.
Back in Orlando, you couldn’t miss the “Welcome To The FaM1ly” image.
They were back there hoping that Tiger Woods can figure out a way to make Tiger Woods great again.
