Tiger Woods remains the centre of attention, but more from a second line. Certainly not when negotiating with the Saudi fund the infamous pact for the reunification of world golf, sitting on the side of the PGA Tour committee table, a task to which, he explains, he is dedicating a good part of his energies. But yes, when it comes to talking about the pure competitive aspect. Woods has once again said that he feels he has the shots, that he has the golf and that he only lacks “putting it there for 72 holes, something that did not happen in Augusta, where I failed the weekend”, he explained today at the Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky), venue of the PGA Championship that starts on Thursday, where he attended the media.
If you read between the lines of his speech, you have to conclude that Tiger did not want to raise more expectations than necessary about his chances in the second Major of the year. Speaking plainly: he does not see himself competing for the title, although he does not openly say so. Nothing that surprises too much on the other hand.
But he always has something interesting to say. For example, when he analyses the Number One and Number Two in the world, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, undoubtedly the two fashionable players. One, for what he was doing before his small break due to his first paternity (four victories and a second place in his last five appearances). The other, for his recent and resounding qualitative leap: it turns out that that Rory certainly stagnated a few weeks ago can now only be treated as an absolute contender for everything, even with Scheffler in the field.
To Tiger, with Scheffler, the same thing happens as to everyone else: he can’t find the words to describe what he’s doing, although he revels in the analysis. “What he does through the ball and that footwork… His ball striking, the amount of greens he catches, he simply exhausts you with that way of playing. Then, he also has incredible hands around the greens. So after all that if he putts horribly, he’s in the top ten; if he putts decently, he wins; and if he putts well, he runs away”.
A small detail needs to be explained. Tiger has been asked about these two players referring to the incredible consistency in the Texan’s excellence and that gear change, that other ‘gear’ that the Northern Irishman has and showed last Sunday, as characteristics of both that also adorned him in his best times. And the Tiger has referred to both, together: “they are two very different players. What is common in them is how they focus on the field and the sound when, more than seeing them, you hear them hitting balls on the practice field. It’s a different sound because they always hit with the centre of the club face”.
The curious thing is that, when it comes to the truth, comparing these two players with the best version of himself, the Cypress one has been more nostalgic with Rory than with Scheffler. “That way Rory has of taking charge of a golf course and dominating it… I remember that from when I was younger, but it’s been a long time”. That sixth gear from the tee. That feeling that there was no obstacle that could not be overcome with the driver in his hands… Nostalgia, nostalgia. In reality, if one thinks about it, Tiger was a fabulous alloy of both, but even better: very powerful from the tee, with silky hands and also acting as a killer on the greens almost every day.
