Tiger On His Return: "It's been long enough."

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Tiger Woods delivered his usual huge media turnout and intrigue while launching the reborn Genesis Open at Riviera. With his tournament operations folks running the show and the Woods Foundation benefitting from the tournament, Tiger seems full engaged in raising the profile of an event that has languished since the hometown hero last played in 2006.

From the accounts of those on-site, key takeaway lines revolved around his desire to get back playing after too long off, along with his admission of concern about a stacked start.

As I wrote for Golfweek.com, the common sense admission of vulnerability is actually a positive sign that will only win him more fans and sympathy should rust slow down his return to the top.

Steve DiMeglio's story notes Tiger's desire to get back at it after too long away from the game.

Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com noted highlights from the press conference, including this on Tiger's concern about so much golf out of the chute.

“My body is in a pretty good state where I feel like I can handle that workload,” he said Monday at media day for the Genesis Open, which his foundation now hosts, “but I’ve still got to go out there and do it.”

Bob Harig at ESPN.com noted Tiger's obvious ease in returning to a tournament we weren't sure he'd ever play again and the role he envisions for rejuvenating the LA stop.

"To come full circle and have an opportunity to run this event is really special moment in my life,'' said Woods, who will make the tournament one of three in four weeks that he is playing to start 2017.

A couple of other key moments from the press conference included the continuation, with Charles Sifford's name attached, of the annual special exemption to a minority golfer.

Tiger discussed that and his role in shaping the tournament.

Q. Tiger, question about the tournament operation, things like the Sifford exemption.

How much do you get involved in that? Would you get involved in helping pick the person who gets exempt, or in this first year do you kind of step back and see how things unfold and then give your thoughts?

TIGER WOODS: No, I'm part of all of it. I've been involved with running golf tournaments and my foundation for a very long time, since '99. So we've been doing it a very long time. So part of the operations and my staff, I'm very close with them, I trust them implicitly. But obviously I have my finger on some of the things that I want to have happen and how we can make this experience here at Riviera and with Genesis, how we can make it better for not only the players but for all the people that come out and are part of this event.

The Scotty Cameron fan club will enjoy this:

Q. Tiger, can you describe what it feels like to have the putter back in the bag that you have had so much success with over the years?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, well, it felt good there at the Hero in the Bahamas. I made a few putts there, made a few birdies and, yeah, you can hit the ball close but you've still got to hole the putts. I made quite a few putts that week. Over the years, I mean, Scotty has probably built me over a hundred putters trying to replicate this one. It just doesn't. For some reason this one just stands out. I think it's -- I mean, Bob Charles putted with his putter for 50 years, that Bulls Eye. Mark McNulty putted the same thing with his Bulls Eye forever, Jack with his George Low. I mean, for some reason you can find other putters, you may put it on the side or penalty box for a little bit, but for some reason it just keeps coming back.

For those who prefer to read in Tweets, the GCTigerTracker was busy today.

Here is Golf Central's condensed report from the event.

There were many other good bits from the day and I got a one-on-one with him that I'll share more of as we get closer to the Genesis.

Meanwhile, European bookmaker BookMaker.eu is pushing some attention-getting prices that suggest a lack of bullishness (or need for attention!). Tiger's prospects, given his attitude, body language, energy and play at the Hero World Challenge, would have me jumping at a few of these...

Will Tiger Woods finish in the top 10 at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

Yes +350
No -500

How many birdies will Tiger Woods record during the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

OVER 6.5 (-110)
UNDER 6.5 (-120)

How many bogeys or worse will Tiger Woods record during the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open?

OVER 8.5 (-115)
UNDER 8.5 (-115)

Tiger Woods finishing position at 2017 Farmers Insurance Open

1st (+3000)
2nd-10th (+1500)
11th-19th (+900)
20th-30th (+550)
31st-40th (+400)
41st-50th (+350)
51st or worse (-120)

Rory: "I hate that term 'growing the game'...golf was here long before we were, and it's going to be here long after we're gone."

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Part 1 of Rory McIlroy's open and engaging chat with the Independent On Sunday's Paul Kimmage is worth a read, and while his comments about the Olympics got most of the attention, the grow-the-game views and his comments on Tiger stood out.

On the Olympics, he explains himself well and, in hindsight, probably would not have had to wheel out Zika if he'd just said what he tells Kimmage. Then again, his grow the game remarks might have gotten him a lecture from Mssrs Dawson and Finchem.

RM: Well, I'd had nothing but questions about the Olympics - 'the Olympics, the Olympics, the Olympics' - and it was just one question too far. I'd said what I needed to say. I'd got myself out of it, and it comes up again. And I could feel it. I could just feel myself go 'Poom!' and I thought: 'I'm going to let them have it.'

PK: (Laughs)

RM: Okay, I went a bit far. But I hate that term 'growing the game'. Do you ever hear that in other sports? In tennis? Football? 'Let's grow the game'. I mean, golf was here long before we were, and it's going to be here long after we're gone. So I don't get that, but I probably went a bit overboard.

PK: They were goading you.

RM: Yeah, but maybe I shouldn't have reacted in the way that I did. But Olympic golf to me doesn't mean that much - it really doesn't. I don't get excited about it. And people can disagree, and have a different opinion, and that's totally fine. Each to their own.

PK: There was a lot of blow-back for you afterwards. When you were asked about it after the opening round you said: "I've spent seven years trying to please everyone and I figured out that I really can't do that, so I may as well be true to myself."

RM: Yeah, I mean when it was announced (that golf was to be an Olympic sport) in 2009 or whatever, all of a sudden it put me in a position where I had to question who I am. Who am I? Where am I from? Where do my loyalties lie? Who am I going to play for? Who do I not want to piss off the most? I started to resent it. And I do. I resent the Olympic Games because of the position it put me in - that's my feeling towards it - and whether that's right or wrong, it's how I feel.

Ok, so we won't pencil you in for Tokyo 2020.

As for the tired "grow the game" phrase, it's wonderful to see a player single it out.

May I propose "sustain the game," which would allow McIlroy and others not look hypocritical when working to inspire kids to take up the game, something he clearly enjoys. Because we know the "grow" is merely a product of fear that the numbers have, gasp, flatlined.

On Tiger:

RM: I’m drawn to him, yeah. He’s an intriguing character because you could spend two hours in his company and see four different sides to him. When he’s comfortable and he trusts you — and his trust (sensitivity) is way (higher) than mine — he’s great. He’s thoughtful. He’s smart. He reads. He can’t sleep so that’s all he does — he reads stuff and educates himself on everything. But he struggles to sleep, which I think is an effect of overtraining, so I tell him to calm down sometimes. He’d be texting me at four o’clock in the morning: ‘Up lifting. What are you doing?’

PK: Really?

RM: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's never dull!

Forbes: Tiger's Net Worth At $740 Million, Phil $375 Million

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 Kurt Badenhausen explains that Tiger Woods is the youngest on their list of America's Wealthiest Celebrities and the second highest ranked athlete after Michael Jordan. Tiger sits on the list between Diddy and Dr. Dre.

Phil Mickelson is the only other athlete on the list of twenty at $375 million.

Forbes says on Woods:

Woods has earned $1.4 billion from prize money, endorsements and fees from appearances and golf course designs since turning pro in 1996. It is more than any athlete in the history of sports (Jordan earned more when adjusted for inflation). Less than 10% of Woods’ tally is from prize money with sponsorships his main source of revenue.

We know these dollar figures are a bit silly and likely bloated given that they may not take divorce settlements into full account. Still, even if cut in half, the numbers and success of two golfers over all other modern athletes, is noteworthy.

Roundup: Tiger's Mac Daddy Pic Spawns No Shortage Of Glorious Mocking

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I'm picturing agent Mark Steinberg, staring out the window at Excel headquarters listening to a pitch for Tiger, when a nervous assistant barges in and points at a cell phone, only to remember the boss is a Blackberry man. Just as Steiny had pushed back on the price to get Tiger into a new blue chip product endorsement deal, the assistant swipes off the dust on Steiny's desktop and brings up Tiger's Twitter account.

"Uh, I need to call you back, whoever I was just talking to," says Steiny.

There the image sits. For no rational reason, a stern, shirtless Tiger Woods is wearing a Santa cap, invoking his children and referencing Mac Daddy, a phrase Merriam-Websters defines as "a conspicuously successful pimp." Or option two, "a slick womanizer." The Urban Dictionary also weighs in (gloriously).

Steiny sighs nervously.

"At least it's the Thursday before Christmas, the Internet is on vacation, right?" he asks as the young assistant mumbles something about Grayson Allen just texted to tell Tiger thank you.

So in the interest of sparing that poor Excel intern the pain of presenting a roundup of Tiger's bizarre attempt at humor/coolness/something, here is the Busted Coverage roundup/slideshow, Des Bieler's take at the WaPo, and the GeoffShackelford.com favorites:

 


 

McGinley Not Bullish On Tiger Making It Back

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Most former players were suitably impressed by Tiger's initial impressions this month after a long layoff. But put Paul McGinley as skeptical Tiger will reach a level that motivates the 14-time major winner to grind.

Talking to The Mirror's Mike Walker, McGinley says he understands excitement surrounding Tiger's Hero Challenge appearance but...

“Personally, I think the reaction to the way he played in the Hero World Challenge was over the top. - his performance level was here (waist-high) and the reaction was up here (above the head).

“He has further to jump if he is to get back to the top level, where he was, and can he do it at 41 years old? Nobody has ever done it before at his age – there have been sporadic performances, like Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters at 46, but it’s not as if he was dominating the game then.

“Tiger’s a little bit like a footballer who reaches 32: He can still play the odd great game, as Steven Gerrard did at Liverpool, but can he do it day after day? That’s the big hurdle."

Indeed it is a hurdle and I respect McGinley's view.

Perhaps the bar was set low after so many mid-round walk-offs, but given where Tiger's game had sunk to, his Hero performance was most admirable. Should he at least get back to a level of contending in tournaments while picking off a few here and there, that would allow him to wind down his career on a positive note. Given where Tiger's been, that would change how he's viewed and how he's remembered. No insignificant accomplishment.

Tiger Finds His Ball, Other Nike Guys In Hoarding Mode

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In reading Doug Ferguson's story reporting Tiger's golf ball endorsement deal with Bridgestone, it's fun to read just how neurotic players remain about the ball they put into play.

I'm enjoying the thought of Brooks Koepka parking his cars outside the garage because of his Nike golf ball hoarding now that they are out of the business...

By choosing a new golf ball, Woods went a different direction from two of Nike's highest-ranked players. Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka said they have asked Nike to set aside as many golf balls as possible.

"I have about two to three years' worth," Koepka said in the Bahamas.

David Dusek's Golfweek.com story on the signing of Woods says Bridgestone ran the numbers, Japanese-style.

Corey Consuegra, Bridgestone’s senior director of marketing, said Monday evening that his company has an internal philosophy based on a Japanese phrase, Genbutsu-Genba.

“What that means is that we make fact-based decisions, decisions that are based on data,” he said. “So when we looked into the opportunity to be a partner with Tiger Woods, we studied closely and learned (in focus groups) that our brand perception increases by 50 percent when he is connected to our brand, and the purchase intent of our consumers goes up based on the nature of his credibility.”