Woods Switched Back To His Scotty The Day Nike Quit The Equipment Business

/

We know players make club switches to appease sponsors and face bag requirements. But most club companies ultimately trust a player to do what is best for their game if they are struggling. Tiger Woods has never been woeful on the greens. But before his layoff, he wasn't as good as he once was.

Given that Tiger Woods won 13 of 14 majors with his trusty Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter, his response to a question about switching back to it today prompted an uncharacteristically blunt answer.

From Will Gray's full item on this fascinating insider issue.

“The day that we (Nike) were no longer a part of the hard goods side,” Woods said when asked when he put his old putter back into play.

Brandel Chamblee was asked about his expectations for the weekend but instead noted that Woods has moved into a unique place where he can pick whatever he wants in his bag. But the question may now linger: why didn't one of the greatest players of all time and richest golfers in history have the freedom to putt with his trusty flatstick?

Roundup: Tiger Returns In Thrilling Style, Fades To 73

/

This comeback was definitely different in tone. Just look at Doug Ferguson's list of previous Tiger Woods comebacks and you recall how many were forced, premature or just downright edgy.

This time around anyone with an ounce of soul did not want to see another boondoggle. Mercifully for golf and Tiger, the 14-time major winner put on a strong early show before succumbing to the fatigue of a hot day, enormous pressure and a lack of tournament seasoning after a long layoff.

Of course, in classic Tiger fashion, he refused to admit to fatigue. That might just be the best evidence he's his ownself again.

Jason Sobel noted this classic stubbornness in his account for ESPN.com:

This was a textbook round for someone who hadn't played in a while: Make a few nervy pars just to ease away the tension; ride the wave of adrenaline up the leaderboard; get overtaken by fatigue down the stretch.

If we needed further proof, though, of Woods' return to familiarity, it came after the round, when he wouldn't acquiesce to that last observation.

He was asked a reasonable question about whether he'd run out of gas before making those two doubles.

"I wouldn't say that," he offered. "I just made some mistakes."

Michael Collins, talking to Sportscenter, also pointed out that post-round, Tiger did not come across as someone physically compromised.

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com makes the shrewd point that the strong start to the round makes this a much better feeling 73 than one in which Woods was just so-so all day.

Had Woods more evenly dispersed his scorecard, had one of his closing doubles instead come amid the three-birdie run that highlighted his opening nine, perhaps the tinge of disappointment might have evaporated. But he didn’t, and they didn’t, and a 73 is more difficult to stomach after Woods appeared on his way to something in the mid-60s.

In case you have a real job and missed it, here is Golf Channel's highlight package.

Alan Shipnuck, writing for Golf.com, offers his overall assessment as a long time Tiger observer, some more elaborate comments from former swing coach Hank Haney and this on the first tee mood scene:

He was dressed in a badass all-black ensemble, befitting the high noon tee time. The World Challenge is a mostly meaningless hit-and-giggle event, but the tee was crowded with reporters, cameramen and assorted rubberneckers. The most dominant golfer of all time does not have the luxury of easing back into competition. The mood was tense, even fraught. As Woods settled over the ball, waggling his discordant new TaylorMade driver, it was so funereal quiet you could hear decorative flags flapping in the distance.

Former swing coach Haney also offered this Tweet:

Steve DiMeglio of USA Today saw enough to declare more wins in Tiger's future.

As long as his body — and especially his back — holds up, Woods will lift championship hardware again. Doesn’t matter if he’ll turn 41 on Dec. 31. The game’s needle will trigger appreciative cheers in trophy ceremonies on the 18th green in the future.

Another longtime Tiger watcher who has seen his share of antics, also had a positive assessment.

Jeff Babineau at Golfweek includes a lot of Tiger playing partner Patrick "Pat" Reed, as well as this:

Cool to see, yes. Tiger Woods, back in action, the round moving like a movie reel, giving us glimpses of the familiar. He pounded a drive 20 yards past Reed, a long knocker, at the third, and roped a 5-iron from 235 yards on the same hole that soared through the air on a string. He enjoyed that one. The ball would run out over the green, but it gave Woods some confidence. When he poured in a 16-foot left-to-righter at the short 14th to save par after being in a sandy area AND a bunker, there was a fist pump. The adrenaline was pumping.

And for Tigerphiles, in case you missed it, Mike Johnson filed an interesting GolfDigest.com look at what it's like to work with Tiger when he's club testing.

Tiger tees off at 11:12 am ET Friday, with Morning Drive and Golf Central bringing early play highlights before the 1 pm telecast.

Roundup: Tiger To Begin "Phase Two" Of His Career

/

Euphoria, multiple eagles and high-level anticipation! it's all in the Bahamas air as Tiger is finally back! Shoot, the first birdie back may lower his Masters win odds to 5-1. Even the jargon (ballistics!) has been sharp and the almost-funny one liners are back.

All is right with the world!

Oh sure there is a long way to go. The body looks understandably tight (see Tripp Isenhour's breakdown at the 6 minute mark of today's Golf Central). But the swing rhythm and reports like this one from Jeff Babineau sound promising:

Maybe more impressive were some of the low, laser-like long irons he hit into the teeth of the wind on a few of Albany’s difficult par 3s, such as the eighth, playing about 230 yards, where he knocked a tee shot 12 feet past the flag and missed the putt.

As Tiger prepares to launch what is apparently been dubbed "Phase Two", Will Gray notes at GolfChannel.com that there will be entertaining mood swings that may prove more entertaining than the golf.

Sure, some feedback will be gleaned. His swing will inevitably be dissected from all angles, and the short game that bogged him down so often last year will be on full display, for better or worse.

And given such a small sample size, dangerous levels of extrapolation are sure to follow. Every made birdie will mean a 15th major is a fait accompli; every flubbed chip will lead others to question if his career has officially run its course.

Tiger is feeling the good vibes of his time at Hazeltine, as the U.S.A. Ryder Cup team wore onesies and red t-shirts emblazoned with "Make Tiger Great Again" to honor their assistant captain, writes Jason Sobel at ESPN.com. More fascinating may be how much the players want to see him play well again:

"We want our champion back," Bubba Watson said. "We want our Tiger Woods back. We want him playing again."

"He's still just turning every head when he walks into the dining area," added Spieth. "Or if he's on the driving range, I mean, everybody's looking up to see him hit some shots. I was doing it this morning, interested obviously."

Given how long he's been away and how many surgeries Tiger has been through, expectations probably need to be tempered though, as Paige Mackenzie and I discussed today on Morning Drive with Whit Watson.

Tiger will pass 150 or so players just by finishing the Hero World Challenge, even if he finishes last, Bob Harig notes at ESPN.com. Shouldn't there be some sort of ranking points penalty for tournaments of a certain (miniscule) size?

The subdued energy level from his post-pro-am round interview could be read one of two ways: this is just another Hero World Challenge and I've been doing this too long, or, I'm trying to make it sound like this is another Hero World Challenge and that I've been doing this too long.

Tiger tees off at noon ET Thursday. Golf Channel will present Morning Drive starting at 10:30 am. The show will include live shots of Tiger warming up, along with more of our Design Week coverage. At 11:55 Golf Central will take over and provide bonus coverage before the regularly scheduled 12:30 ET start.

Tiger Explains His Commitment To Safeway And Then A WD

/

I listened to Tiger's press conference on satellite radio and have read many of the takes from his big return to the media center stage. He sounds like the old, confident Tiger comfortable in his skin and in his ability. But also also threw out the usual bingo board jargon and a few weird answers that make you wonder.

For me, it was hard to reconcile his answer about WD'ing from the Safeway Open with any image of a more mature, responsible Tiger Woods.

Jay Coffin at GolfChannel.com with the answer.

“One, the Ryder Cup helped a lot in the sense that I got a chance to be out there with the guys and see it and feel it and experience it,” he said. “Two, it hurt me by not being able to practice for a week.”

Which then led to a Friday commitment before?!

Here's where flags really rise...

Woods said that he could’ve played Safeway with limited go-to shots in his arsenal but it wasn’t worth the risk to do that on a golf course he hasn’t played since his college days, 20 years ago.

It's Silverado, not St. Andrews!

“As hard as it was on me to take it off and pull out of the event, it was a smart thing to do even though as a competitive athlete it killed me,” Woods said. “But if I’ve waited at the time, what, 13 months, what’s another couple more months? So let’s be a little patient, a little easier on myself, a little smarter and let’s come back when things are a little more together.”

So he wasn't ready. We all would have understood.

Why not just admit that it was a blunder, apologize for entering on a Friday before withdrawing on Monday after a bad weekend, and beg for the forgiveness of those who planned on attending to see you?

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie Files: Tiger and His Stanford Regret

/

During Tiger's rebranding/Foundation 20th media tour, he understandably didn't have much to talk about given the state of his game. This unfortunately led to the strange comment of only having one regret: leaving Stanford with two years of eligibility remaining.

This opened the door for this analysis of the many reasons Woods had no choice but to flee Stanford. From GolfDigest.com's John Strege, who closely covered Tiger's junior and college career and said the comments "ring hollow".

1. The NCAA’s influence. It began when he was a high school sophomore and had accepted an offer of an honorary membership at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. The NCAA was concerned that Woods might be jeopardizing his college eligibility. The NCAA eventually ruled that that there was not a rules violation.

Once Woods started at Stanford, several NCAA conflicts or potential conflicts arose, among them: Writing diaries for magazines from his first Masters appearance, warranting a one-day suspension; using, in the same Masters, balls and equipment not provided by the university in potential violation of rules. “If you look at this situation objectively,” his father Earl said, “this is the perfect opportunity for Tiger to say, ‘kiss my yin, yang’ and leave school.”

Woods also was suspended briefly for having lunch with Arnold Palmer at the Silverado Resort and allowing Palmer to pay for it. “I don’t need this. It’s annoying,” he said.

Tiger was also mugged by someone who knew his name, reason enough for most of us to get out of Palo Alto!

The SI/golf.com gang kicked the topic around in this week's Tour Confidential and if you can handle the constantly wiggling web page, the discussion is interesting. From Gary Van Sickle:

VAN SICKLE: Tiger isn't delusional, he's utterly competitive. What's delusional is that he regrets leaving Stanford, where he was mugged at knifepoint on campus by someone who knew his name, and that he could've possibly remained eligible for NCAA or amateur golf after his first two years and all that went on. Other than that, it was close to the vest and, to be honest, kind of a snooze despite Rose's best efforts.

"Possibilities abound for South Shore-Jackson Park golf course"

/

The Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein considers the possible South Shore-Jackson Park-Obama-Woods-Keiser-Rolfing project on the South Side and gives it an endorsement, seeing plenty of potential "greatness," assuming green fees for the locals do not go up substantially.

The project has been a dream of Rolfing's that has taken an intriguing turn with the possible inclusion of Tiger Woods and now, the Obama library. I hate seeing the dreadful TPC Harding Park redesign--a massive cost overrun boondoggle with dreadful architectural results--as a precedent setter, but Greenstein notes the green fees have at least held steady:

That's what officials did at TPC Harding Park, the San Francisco course that was transformed into a facility worthy of the 2009 Presidents Cup. Senior residents of the city can play the 18 holes from Monday-Thursday for $39, about one-fourth of the standard rate.

Rolfing also wants to design a "short course" in the vein of what Harding Park has — nine holes ranging from 140-405 yards

Tiger No Shows Galore But Makes Time For Colbert, Rose!?

/

It’s a sorry state of affairs, and I want to sympathize with Tiger's swing and injury issues, but celebrating the 20th anniversary of his fine Foundation and the not-so-fine launch of his rebranding with appearances on Colbert and Charlie Rose? Strange timing.

It's not a great look that he committed before pulling out of last week’s Safeway and inexplicably passed on Arnold Palmer’s funeral, yet Woods can make time for talk shows? Given the amount of money he has made thanks to Palmer’s breakthrough efforts for athletes or the intelligence gleaned by his operation from IMG as a result of Palmer and Mark McCormick’s pioneering ways, the appearances seem poorly timed (at best).

If you want to set the DVR, here is a preview often October 20th appearances from Joel Beall at GolfDigest.com.

Jason Day: Tiger Won't Be Back Until Next Year**

/

Jason Day texts with Tiger Woods and has visited him and says he senses an eagerness from Tiger to return, but doesn't see it happening anytime soon.

Robert Grant, reporting on the sidelined world No. 1's comments about the sidelined former world No. 1. **

"I think he misses being out here, which is understandable because the competition is so addicting," Day said.

"He saw Phil Mickelson playing well at the (British) Open Championship, and that got him going. But he knows he can't push it.

"I never really had any faith in him coming back this year. The state of his game, I'm not sure. His back is so sore. I think we'll see him sometime next year, but I'm not sure when," he said.

Day went on to suggest winning will be tougher than ever due to the competitiveness of today's tour.

**Apologies for not catching this, but the author unfortunately chose to lift these remarks from Brian Wacker's Golf Digest feature on Tiger's low-profile existence in the greater Jupiter area. A story worth reading given the latest suggestion that Tiger tried to cram for his first tournament back and WD'd upon actually testing his game on a course.

As for dating the story October 18th and giving the impression of original reporting, the Golf Australia story should not have been posted and distributed as news.

Not April Fool's Files: Tiger Rebrands To Not Create A Dependency That Would Undo Longevity!

/

It's been way too long since we've been blessed with a unique blend of authentic, frontier gibberish-speak.

But then we also didn't see Tiger Woods picking the Monday after his Safeway enter-and-the-WD to launch a rebranding and business expansion. Maybe he just felt that threatened by the Great White Shark transitioning redirecting to a single-color logo as he continues to pursue his love of hurricane-induced fitness, chainsaws and shirtless golf tips (and that's just in the last week!).

Elizabeth Segran of Fast Company got the exclusive lowdown on TGR, Tiger's new Magic/Lebron/Jack/Arnold-like empire of brands complete with a new logo "made up of three triangles that look like a tiger's stripes and also resemble a W."

Key word, resemble.

The story includes plenty of photo gallery fun and no shortage of prime B-speak. But why, oh why a rebranding now?

Though Woods's overall brand has been tarnished by highly publicized personal-life scandals, TGR will give him a platform from which to launch the next stage of his career. He had been thinking about building this kind of umbrella operation for several years now, but only began nailing down the details last December, shortly after his 40th birthday. Woods and key executives from his existing businesses started strategizing ways to create a brand that would take advantage of his position as one of the world's most recognizable athletes, but would not necessarily be directly tied to golf. They brought in Sub Rosa to help define what TGR would stand for and how it could scale across a wide range of industries. "If chapter one began when he was first on national television playing golf, now it's Tiger, the enterprise or Tiger, the portfolio activator," says Kempler. "He has a really clear mind-set about what his personal brand means."

Portfolio activator. I'm just going to give that gem some time to breathe.

Ok, continue on sir...

Sub Rosa was tasked with incorporating these ideas into the TGR narrative, so that as the brand scaled and entered new markets, it would be instantly identifiable as an extension of Woods. But they also wanted to create a business that could exist apart from its namesake, like, say, Paul Newman's food empire. "How can Tiger's global fame and recognizability both empower the new brand, but not create a dependency that would undo longevity?" says Kempler, describing the kinds of conversations he's had with Woods.

Translation: when you move on the Big Cat's Big 18 In The Sky, we want people to be able to keep making money off of your name, because we know how much you love that.

And there was this story ending...

Of course, Woods could, at the age of 40, still have many years ahead of him as a competitive golfer. Given his famously intense training regimen and diverse business interests, how will he manage everything? "I pride myself on being efficient," he says. "I also don't sleep much."

The story also speculated Woods might use the Nike equipment demise to start a club company. Mike Johnson considered that and the many other nuggets from the story in this GolfDigest.com assessment.

With the golf club business stagnant, it’s not clear how Woods could make a golf startup buck the current trends. That said, it’s also not clear how Woods could hope to negotiate a golf endorsement contract anywhere similar to the deals current top players like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are bringing in, let alone the last deal he signed with Nike in 2013. So starting his own golf club company could have a certain appeal.

Still, Woods hasn’t tipped his hand that he’s exploring other golf equipment deals yet. In footage from a charity outing at Pebble Beach last week, he was still clearly using Nike clubs. And while he’s still apparently a few months from competing again, that’s not enough time to start a new golf club company.

But the Nike deal is set to expire 2018, which gives Woods time to explore his own equipment brand.