While Justin Rose was over winning the Scottish Open by two full strokes, Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed, of all people, were getting in some early practice rounds in preparation for the upcoming British Open.
In fact they were playing at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, County of Wirral in the United Kingdom, once known as England. As it happens, that is where the much anticipated British Open will be taking place starting Thursday July 17th.
Tiger Woods fans and people who like to wager of golf matches will be happy to hear that the Tiger says that he is ready to go for the British Open. For the first time in recent memory, Tiger Woods is not listed as the favorite to win whatever tournament he entered. Even when he said he wasn’t going to play, they still made Tiger the favorite. Go figure.
When asked about his health after the practice round, Woods replied, “I’m not favoring anything. The little baby steps worked. We were very diligent about what I was doing. Going into it we pushed it pretty hard to get my abs and glutes strong so when I did come back I was able to rebound fast. I can do whatever I want. I’m at that point now. We didn’t think we’d get to that point until this tournament or the week after.”
Tiger’s now infamous bad back problem started last year at the Barclays, at least that’s when fans started to notice that slight wince with each tee shot. The situation became obviously worse and more painful as the tour went along, still Tiger Woods remained the favorite in Las Vegas for every tourney he entered.
Woods said in a recent interview, “Before I had the procedure, I was at the point I couldn’t do anything. This is how I used to feel. I had been playing with the back injury for a while and I had my good weeks and bad weeks. Now they are all good.”
That is certainly good news for all golfing fans and golfers alike. Pro, amateur or weekend hacker, everyone has got to be glad to see Tiger Woods back out on the links once more. It just wasn’t the same without him. TV ratings went down and PGA revenues also took a substantial dive during Tigers absence from the Tour.
So it was very encouraging to hear Woods say, “I’ve got my speed back, which is nice, and I’m starting to hit the ball out there again. I’m only going to get stronger.”
