Welcome to the 2017 #heroworldchallenge | @TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/p4MfWOyz32
— TGR Live (@TGRLiveEvents) November 26, 2017
Tiger Woods is returning to tournament action on Thursday and the golf world is hyperventilating, again. Well, at least the golf media are. Take a breath, everyone.
As Tiger might say for about the millionth time, “It is what it is.”
Woods will tee it up in the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas, part of an elite 18-man field and also the tournament host. It will be his first tour event since the Dubai Desert Classic in February.
In glowing reports leading up to the tournament, Woods, among other things, is 1) swinging without pain and 2) driving it long. How long? Longer than Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson (half the time during a recent round). And he is doing it with a rebuilt golf swing that’s designed to protect his surgically repaired left knee and reduce stress on his surgically repaired back.
Tiger will be paired with World No. 3 Justin Thomas in the first two rounds. They tee off at 12:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. The small field includes winners of 22 majors and 13 golfers who played in the 2017 Presidents Cup.
Tiger’s Clubs
Tiger has a mixed bag of golf equipment, including TaylorMade woods and driving iron, “TGR” prototype irons, Nike wedges and his Scotty Cameron putter. He will also be using a Bridgestone golf ball.
“I am more confident in the performance of the TOUR B XS than any other ball I have ever played,” Tiger said in a Bridgestone news release. “It is incredibly long off the tee, while offering excellent feel and spin around the green. The consistency it provides gives me complete confidence that I can hit any shot the situation calls for.”
Here’s what’s in Tiger’s bag this week, according to GolfWRX.com.
Driver: TaylorMade M2 2016 (9.5 degrees) with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70TX shaft
3-Wood: TaylorMade M2 2017 (13.5 degrees) with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90TX shaft
5-Wood: TaylorMade M1 2017 (19 degrees) with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90TX
Driving Iron: TaylorMade Tour Preferred UDI
Irons: “TGR” prototypes (4-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts
Wedges: Nike VR Pro Forged (56 and 60 degrees) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS
Ball: Bridgestone TOUR B XS
Neil Sagebiel
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