Tiger Woods far from impressive

Edited by Anand Datla

January 30, 2015: Tiger Woods’ return to Phoenix couldn’t have started much worse. The short-game struggles he showed at December’s Hero World Challenge continued and he had trouble off the tee, a persistent problem in recent years.  Woods was 4 over par on TPC Scottsdale’s first four holes Thursday after hitting his opening tee shot into the desert and struggling with seemingly simple chip shots. Ryan Palmer, opened with a 7-under 64 to build a one-shot lead when play was suspended by darkness at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

Some promising shots on the back nine allowed him to salvage a 2-over 73 in his first round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open since 2001, but he’ll have to go low Friday to make the cut. Woods was tied for 104th, nine shots behind leader Ryan Palmer, when play was halted for the day due to darkness. The projected cut currently falls at even par.

A tap-in eagle at the par-5 13th– where he hit his 226-yard second shot to 7 inches — and two-putt birdie at the drivable par-4 17th helped Woods shoot 2 under par on the back nine.  Woods is undoubtedly hitting it longer, but he had trouble hitting it straight. He tied for eighth in driving distance Thursday (318.6 yards), but hit just five of 14 fairways, sending several into the desert. He hit 10 greens in regulation and his strokes gained-tee-to-green was -2.62.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is Woods’ second tournament since he announced in November that he began working with swing consultant Chris Como. This is Woods’ first event since the Hero, and first PGA TOUR event since August.  “I got into the flow of the round, but it was just about trying to be so committed to the swing change and do it,” Woods said. “I have been through it before. It’s not the first time I have gone through this. It takes time.”

Woods didn’t hesitate to hit driver Thursday, using it nine times. He hit just one fairway with that club, but drove the green at 17.  He seemed reluctant to use a wedge around the greens, though, using a 4-iron and putter in lieu of a more-lofted club. When he did pitch with a wedge, there were no chunked shots like we saw at the Hero World Challenge, but he seemed to hit some chips thin, running them past the hole.

Tiger Woods’ slow start in Round 1 at Waste Management.  His swing plane is shallower on both his short shots and the full swing, an effect of his work with Como. The new plane caused Woods to use a new bounce on his wedges, similar to what he used in the early 2000s, he said.  “He’s just adjusting to the chipping,” said Jordan Spieth, who played alongside Woods. “But other than that, he started to really turn that around on the back nine.”

Woods also struggled with his short game when he was changing his swing under instructor Sean Foley. Both times, Woods said the problems were caused by struggles to adjust to the new “release pattern” each instructor was teaching him. He said he was much steeper with Foley.  “I’m so shallow, I pick it a lot,” Woods said. “This is a totally different release pattern, and it takes time to be committed to it, especially when you have to shape shots. … It’s going to take time to get the feel of my hands, where they need to be throughout the entire swing.”

Woods showed little confidence in his short game Thursday after chunking multiple chips at the Hero. He seemed to be facing straightforward chip shots on Nos. 1 and 4, but used a 4-iron to hit a bump-and-runs both times, even though he wasn’t far from the green. They were the type of shots most players would instinctively grab a wedge to hit.  “Some of my shots were into the grain with tight pins, and either I’ll flop it or bump it,” Woods said. “I chose to bump it.”