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There's plenty at
stake as Tiger returns to PGA Tour...
BETHESDA, Md. — As comebacks go, it
wasn’t exactly auspicious …
At the crack of dawn at Congressional
Country Club in Wednesday’s Pro-Am in
front of a handful of people, Tiger
Woods unceremoniously rinsed his first
shot, on the par-3 10th hole.
It was a mixed bag after that ... safe
to say this wasn't vintage Tiger Woods.
Not that anyone should be expecting much
from him this week … Woods is here after
more than three months away in order to
get the rust out of his game ahead of
the year’s third major, the British
Open, at Royal Liverpool in three weeks’
time.
What he needs is to be healthy -- 2007,
remember, was the last year Woods played
an uninterrupted schedule -- and on that
front, Wednesday was a success, as he
emerged pain free, even after hitting
balls from the lush rough as well as off
the uneven lies that brought on back
spasms earlier in the season.
What this week does represent, however,
is the first step in a journey.
And it’s a journey that’s important to
both Woods and to golf.
There’s no question the game misses him.
There’s domination now, but it’s by
committee … Bubba Watson at the Masters,
Martin Kaymer at both The Players and
the US Open and a host of others have
had their 15 minutes of fame in between
…
But the PGA Tour isn’t going to be
sustained by journeymen like Scott
Stallings and John Senden.
The TV ratings were down by 54 percent
at the Players and 46 percent at the US
Open … that’s not a reflection on the
quality of Kaymer’s play, but on the
fact that Woods brings not just
greatness to the table, but star power.
Or at least, he used to...
Now, the biggest question in the game is
… can he rise again?
As we saw with Spain at the World Cup,
crystallized by David Villa, who buried
his face in a towel as left the big
stage for what he knew would be the last
time ... nothing's guaranteed in sports
... one day, it can all just go away.
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