Newsday (N.Y.): Tiger Woods disappointed he’s not getting the job done at Masters

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It was an exciting few weeks leading to this Masters, calling down echoes, believing — maybe the proper word is hoping — that Tiger Woods at 42 would contend again in a tournament like he did when he was younger.

Out of nowhere he was the betting favorite — memory sometimes overwhelms reality — and mainly because of Woods’ presence in the field for the first time since 2015.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2018 Newsday. All rights reserved. 

No fun for most on a tough day at the Masters

By Art Spander

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tony Lema, a San Leandro kid whose brief life provided both success in and insight into golf, told us that the difference between the Masters and the U.S. Open is the difference between fun and fear.

Yes, the Open, with its narrow fairways and heavy rough, can be punishing. But the men who flailed around Augusta National on Friday in the second round of the 2018 Masters may have a definition of fun that is not quite the same as Lema’s.

Phil Mickelson, believing he had resurrected his game and his chances, had a triple bogey at nine, a double bogey at 12 and shot 79, seven over par. “Yeah,” said Mickelson, “it was a rough day.“

Tiger Woods had a double bogey and shot 75, three over. “I hit my irons awful today,” said Woods, who at least made the cut — as did Mickelson. “So many beautiful putts, but nothing went in today. Didn’t control distances, shapes or anything.”

Jordan Spieth, the overnight leader, started double bogey, bogey and then managed to shoot 74. “I just had two really bad tee shots the first two holes,” said Spieth, “and then the course was very difficult today.”

Not for Patrick Reed. He shot a 66 and is at 135, two shots in the lead. Or Marc Leishman, a 67 for 137. But for almost everyone else, Augusta, with a slight breeze and challenging pin positions, was a struggle.

Which, of course, is proper for a major championship. Otherwise it’s not a major. But there was that idea, endorsed by Lema, that with its wide fairways, the Masters was enjoyable. It has been for Reed. It hasn’t been for Matt Kuchar, who shot a 75 Friday and explained, “It was a very, very hard day.”

Mickelson and Woods have won multiple Masters. Spieth has a single victory. But all the course knowledge and fine play doesn’t mean much when a shot smacks a tree, as did Mickelson’s on nine, or flies into the bushes, as did Tiger’s on five.

Matt Kuchar, with a 38 on the back nine (forgive me, Masters Gods, for not calling it the “second nine”), was visibly frustrated after a three-putt at 18 and a 75 for 143. “It was a very hard day,” he agreed. “I thought I hit a bunch of real good shots and walked away with a bogey, which is part of how it works here.”

How it works here, there and everywhere, is if you hit a perfect tee shot, a perfect approach and then a perfect putt, you probably make birdie. Probably, because as every golfer, pro to hacker, knows full well, an erratic bounce or a gust of wind may spoil all the apparent perfection.

And while it’s hard to accept when you’re the one in the vise, it’s sometimes refreshing when you’re just watching. “It’s one of those days,” said Kuchar, who finished early on, “where I’m kind of anxious to kick my feet up in the house and watch the guys deal with it the rest of the afternoon.”

Please, Matt, didn’t you ever read that advice in the spectator guide from Bobby Jones, the Augusta founder, that we’re not supposed to cheer the mistakes and misfortunes of the competitor?

“It was tough from the get-go,” said Kuchar. “It was never comfortable. I think this place keeps you on edge because of the fact on almost every hole, the line between birdie and bogey is so fine.”

“You either have to be sharp,” he said, “or you really have to be clean. I felt I was doing a whole lot of scrambling, and for the most part I was getting away with scrambling pretty well.”

Mickelson didn’t get away with it.

“There’s a disappointment between wanting it so bad and then also letting it kind of happen,” said the 47-year-old Mickelson. “As you get older, you feel a little bit more pressure with each one. I thought this was a great year, a great opportunity.”

It was, but on a tough day, he couldn’t do much with that opportunity.

Masters: Tiger’s back, Sergio’s shocked

By Art Spander

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Just one of those things. A song title from Cole Porter about a flamed-out romance. An observation from Sergio Garcia about a round of golf so painfully flamed out — he is the defending champion, is he not? — it almost made us forget about the over-hyped return to the Masters of Tiger Woods.

Almost.

You were aware, certainly, that Mr. Woods, after an absence of three years, is once more in the Masters, literally if not exactly after an opening round 1-over-par 73 Thursday, back in contention — although as he resolutely reminded, “it’s a bunched leader board.”

Is it fair to say that seven shots behind this era’s Tiger, young Jordan Spieth, and in a tie for 29^th Tiger is not exactly in the bunch?

No matter. With 54 holes remaining at a tournament he has won four times, and the first major of the year, we can say anything — and Woods can disprove anything and everything.

Except that he failed to take advantage of the par-fives, the holes that in his glory years were responsible for his success because of repetitive birdies. He had nothing but pars on those four holes Thursday.

Garcia could only wish that had been his situation. Alas, on the 15^th, the 530-yard hole so many of those at or near the top did birdie — Spieth, Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, and Rory McIlroy — Garcia made 13.

That was eight over par. That matched the highest score ever on any single hole in any Masters, and this is the 82nd.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Sergio told us. He knocked five balls into the pond in front of the 15^th green, the last four hitting the green and then trickling back down a very slippery slope.

“It was just one of those things,” he said. “It’s the first time in my career where I make a 13 without missing a shot.”

Tom Weiskopf made a 13 on the par-3 12^th in 1980 (five balls into Rae’s Creek). Tommy Nakajima made a 13 on the par-5 13^th (balls behind trees, into Rae’s Creek). When someone that day asked Nakajima if he lost confidence, he responded, “No, I lose count.”

What counted for many was Tiger’s presence.

Sure, he hadn’t played a Masters since 2015. Sure, he holds the Masters scoring record. Sure, there seemed to be more anticipation and excitement for this 2018 Masters than for others of late. But how much publicity is too much?

Tiger was mentioned in 130 pre-tournament interviews with players other than Tiger.

ESPN, televising the Thursday and Friday rounds, had a Masters preview Wednesday night that mentioned only Tiger’s chances.

It was as if he was the lone golfer entered.

But, we learned quickly enough, there was Sergio, who would shoot a 9-over 81 (which isn’t bad when you go 8-over on one hole) and there was Jordan, the 2015 winner, who shot a 6-under 66.

What we learned about Tiger, in his return, is that despite the scandal of ’09, he’s still wildly popular — “The people were incredible,” he said of the boisterous galleries — and he’s still wild with some of his shots.

“I hit it better than I scored,” was the Woods analysis, a frequent explanation. He had five bogies and four birdies, two of the birdies at 14 and 16, neither of which is an easy hole.

He saw a reason to be satisfied, even if over par.

“Seventy-three is fine,” said Woods. It is? While over the years Tiger has started slowly at Augusta, he’s now 42 years old and hasn’t won a Masters since 2005.

And yet, he was back.

“Yes, I played in a major championship again,’” Woods said, “but also the fact I was — I got my myself back in the tournament, and I could have easily let it slip away. And I fought hard to get back in there, and I’m back in this championship. There’s a lot of holes to be played.”

Indeed, but the issue is how will he play them?

One bad swing or bad break and, well, as Sergio knows too well, one of those things can happen all too quickly.

Newsday (N.Y.): Jordan Spieth felt great, but played lousy in Masters final round

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

AUGUSTA, Ga. — This was supposed to be Jordan Spieth’s Masters, wasn’t it? Two shots out of the lead going to the final round, a former champion, ready to take chances, ready to create excitement.

But he just couldn’t make it happen Sunday at Augusta National.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2017 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): Rickie Fowler is comfortable contending for the Masters

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

AUGUSTA, Ga. — He is 28 now, and his career, while impressive, remains one of unmet expectations. Rickie Fowler has teased us but not pleased us. Or most definitely himself.

He was a Ryder Cup star as a rookie in 2010 on a losing American team, making birdies the last four holes to get a half against Edoardo Molinari. Then in 2014, Fowler finished top five in all four of golf’s majors. In 2015 he won the Players Championship. Yet he still doesn’t have a major victory and he missed the cut in last year’s Masters.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2017 Newsday. All rights reserved. 

Spieth takes another quad at Augusta

By Art Spander

AUGUSTA, Ga. — So Jordan Spieth took seven more shots at the 15^th than Gene Sarazen. Let’s not pick on the poor guy. He’s got enough troubles with those water holes at the Masters.

Young Mr. Spieth unquestionably is one of golf’s premier players. In 2015 he won the Masters and U.S. Open, in the last 70 years a double accomplished only by a couple of guys named Arnie and Jack.

Spieth even had his own bobblehead doll, which is not to be confused with a bobble or, as the pros like to say, a hiccup. Less painful to say than “quadruple bogey.”

Which is what Spieth had Thursday on the 15^th hole in the opening round of the 2017 Masters. And, as you remember and Spieth chooses to forget, what he had in the final round in 2016 at the 12^th hole.

A year ago at 12, a hole that some say is the toughest par-3 in the game, give or take an island green or two, Spieth, seemingly headed for a second straight Masters win, hit consecutive shots into Rae’s Creek and — yikes — took a four-over-par seven.

All summer and winter, Spieth was asked what the heck happened and if the memory would haunt him this spring. No, he said over and over. That’s in the past. It may be in our heads but not in his.

On a dangerously windy afternoon, Spieth had no problem on his return to 12. But he had a huge problem with 15, described in a spectator guide as “a reachable par-5 when the winds are favorable.” The winds weren’t favorable Thursday, nor was the manner in which Spieth played the hole.

We pause. At the second Masters in 1935, Sarazen took a 4 wood, then called a spoon, for his second shot at 15 and from 235 yards away knocked the ball in the cup for a double-eagle or, as it is known in Britain, an albatross.

“The shot heard ‘round the world,” it was named, a line first used about patriots at Concord Bridge in the American revolution and subsequently repeated for Bobby Thomson’s pennant-winning home for the New York Giants in the 1951 playoff.

What Sarazen’s shot did was make the Masters a major story about a tournament not yet a major and help get him into a 36-hole playoff against Craig Wood, which Sarazen won.

So much for history. What Spieth’s shot, his third Thursday at 15 since he was forced to lay up, did was spin back into the evil pond that waits menacingly between a sloping fairway and the green. Splash. He dropped a new ball and hit that one long.

“I obviously wasn’t going to hit in the water again,” said Spieth. “So it went over, and from there it’s very difficult.” Four more shots difficult. When the ball plopped into the hole, Spieth — oops — had a four-over-par nine.

But ain’t golf bizarre? Spieth followed with a birdie on the difficult par-3 16^th — sure, 9-2 on consecutive holes — and finished at 3-over 75. That didn’t seem too bad until Charley Hoffman, out of nowhere, shot a 7-under-par 65, leaving Spieth 10 behind.

The good news is he has 54 holes to play. The bad news is two of those holes are the 12^th and 15^th.

A very unusual first day of the 81^st Masters, the first since 1954 without Arnold Palmer on the grounds as either a normal contestant or honorary entrant.

Palmer died at 87 in September. Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who along with Arnie formed golf’s Big Three of the 1960s, wept as they prepared to strike the traditional first balls following a memorial tribute from Masters Chairman Billy Payne.

A very unusual first day. Until first William McGirt finished and then Hoffman emphatically followed, there was a strong possibility this would be the first Masters in 59 years in which no one broke 70 in the opening round.

A very unusual first day. After warming up, Dustin Johnson, No. 1 in the world rankings, went to the first tee and then walked away, unable to take an unhindered, painless swing after a fall down a flight of stairs Wednesday.

"It sucks," Johnson said using the vernacular of the times. "I'm playing the best golf of my career. This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year. Then a freak accident happened (Wednesday) when I got back from the course. It sucks. It sucks really bad."

Jordan Spieth could say the same about the way he played 15.

At the Masters, rain and memories but no azaleas

By Art Spander

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Somewhere in the misty afternoon, one could discern the past at Augusta National.

The Masters certainly is layered upon history as much as on the dark soil of east Georgia, and on a Wednesday when the traditional par-three tournament was ended early because of the weather, thoughts turned to earlier times.

To Byron Nelson, “Lord Byron,” winning the Masters in 1937, 80 years ago.

To hometowner Larry Mize holing a chip shot off the 11^th green to stun star-crossed Greg Norman in a playoff in 1987, 30 years ago.

To a 21-year-old named Tiger Woods changing all we knew about golf by winning in record fashion in 1997, 20 years ago.

Nostalgia is as thick as the Georgia pines down here. In the luxurious, enormous new media facility there are dozens of photos from earlier Masters, photos of Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, of Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus and, of course, photos of Arnold Palmer.

Arnie, among all his triumphs, was most identified with the Masters, which he won four times.

This was where the phrase “Arnie’s Army” was born, created by a writer noticing uniformed soldiers from nearby Fort Gordon in Palmer’s boisterous gallery. This was where Arnie became a TV star, offering style and success that would resonate forever.

Palmer died last fall at 87. He lives on in the pictures and plaques at Augusta National, a young man, handsome and bold, and in the words of Masters Chairman Billy Payne.

Payne was in charge of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He had played football at South Carolina. And yet he was particularly impressed by Palmer.

“I first met Arnold Palmer when I was invited here before I was a member — also before I played golf,” said Payne, who meant befpre he played golf seriously. “But I played with Arnold and with his dear friend, Russ Meyer, and with (former chairman) Jack Stevens.

“Of course I was in total awe, and he was so nice and so accepting of my embarrassing play ... Through the years, I was fortunate to get close to Arnie, as a consequence of his return as a member and as a former champion. And I’m not sure I ever met a man who was more giving than Arnold. He had a profound influence on my life.”

Payne is protective of the club and the game, as expected. The Masters was involved in controversy over the decades before Payne was elevated to the top position — no minority members, no women members. Now the club has both. There’s always some issue out there, however.

On Wednesday, Payne was asked a rather angular question, whether President Donald Trump’s association with golf made Payne “uncomfortable to be associated with the game you love and represent.” 

The answer hardly was a surprise. You think Billy Payne is going to get into politics when his concern is battling Mother Nature this weekend?

“I am not fully aware of anything that our president may have said controversial about the game of golf,” Payne responded. “We have had several presidents, including one who was a member here (Dwight Eisenhower) who have been significant advocates and players of golf. And I think someone who loves the game would espouse and be proud of that association.”

Yes, the Masters exists in its own sphere, where the major worry is not, say, immigration or healthcare, but why there will be so few azaleas in bloom during this year’s tournament. (Warm weather in early March followed by a hard freeze ruined the flowers.)

“So this year,” said Payne with a laugh, “we have decided that our color of choice is green, Augusta green, and I hope you agree it is both abundant and beautiful.”

On this damp afternoon, there wasn’t much else we could do. Except recall the past.

Global Golf Post: Langer Makes A Run For The Aged

By Art Spander
Global Golf Post

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — The fantasy evaporated almost as quickly as it had appeared. "It's going to happen," Bernhard Langer had promised. But not at this Masters and not for Langer, as gallantly as he played, an old man, 58, against the young and in a sense against himself.

"Sooner or later," Langer said. "Someone over 50 is going to win a major."

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2016 Global Golf Post

Newsday (N.Y.): At 58, Bernhard Langer is only two shots back in the Masters

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The game teases, beckons and most of all equalizes. A 300-yard drive shows up on the scorecard as one stroke, the same as a two-foot putt. And so Bernhard Langer at age 58, 30 years older than his playing partner Jason Day — the No. 1 player in the world — is a contender in the Masters.

Langer won his first Masters in 1985, two years before Day was born. He won his second Masters in 1993, four months before Jordan Spieth was born. The ageless German shot a two-under par 70 Saturday in the third round and his 54-hole total of 215 is tied for third two shots behind Spieth.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2016 Newsday. All rights reserved.

McIlroy looking at Masters numbers, not names

By Art Spander

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It’s a game where you hope to have control of yourself but understand you have no control over your opponents. In golf, you may be your own worst enemy. Or best friend.

“I don’t really look at the names on the left of the leaderboard,” said Rory McIlroy, who is one of those names. “I’m looking at the number to see how many shots I’m back.”

It was six shots after eight holes of the second round of this 80th Masters on Friday. And even though he wasn’t looking at the name, the rest of us couldn’t help but look, because it belonged to the defending champion, Jordan Spieth.

Six shots behind Spieth, who was sweeping over Augusta National like the chill wind that blew in from the west. Then, whoosh, like that, one shot.

“The comfortable thing for me,” said McIlroy, “is knowing that even if you are five or six shots back, things can change quite quickly. I’ve been on the opposite end where things can start to get away from you.”

The opposite end, the failure, the collapse, the round that leaves the golfer shaken and the critics gasping and harping.

Five years ago, at the 2011 Masters, McIlroy, the Northern Irishman, was in front after three days of well-played golf. Then he shot 80, eight over par, and tumbled so far, into a tie for 15th. To this day, he still lacks a Masters victory to complete the cycle of wins in all four majors.

“But that gives me confidence,” said McIlroy of closing the gap, “knowing that if you are a little bit behind, you can definitely make a comeback.”

After two rounds in a tournament that in a few hours went from decided to dramatic, he is only a stroke behind. He shot one-under 71 to Spieth’s 74. He is at three-under 141 to Spieth’s four-under 140. Change so quickly, McIlroy insisted.

Spieth was eight under, then after the 18th four under. McIlroy was one under after his eighth and three under after the 18th.

“You know,” said McIlroy, “unless someone is playing exceptionally well and really distances themselves from the field, everything sort of evens out.”

That’s the joy of golf. And the agony. There are no sure things, no playing safe, running the fullback up the middle, walking the cleanup hitter with nobody on so he can’t hurt you. In golf, you hurt yourself.

Didn’t Greg Norman begin the final round in 1996 six shots in front and finish second to Nick Faldo by five shots? Didn’t Jeff Maggert lead by two shots after three rounds in 2003 and end up fifth, five back of winner Mike Weir?

“You’re always going to make mistakes here and there,” said McIlroy, “and it all evens out at the end of the week ... A lot can happen.”

A lot happened to Spieth on this day when the sun shone but the temperature never made it out of the 60s — but unfortunately for their scoring, too many of the players did. Nobody in the top 10, Spieth, McIlroy, Danny Lee, Brandt Snedeker, Sergio Garcia or the rest, broke 70.

“It’s Augusta National,” reminded McIlroy, as if any of us needed reminding, “and in conditions like this, with pin positions the way they were, it was tough, and I just needed to stay patient.”

McIlroy is only a month from his 27th birthday, but he is wise beyond his years, especially about the game that is his business. He’s won a U.S. Open, in record fashion, a British Open and two PGA Championships. He’s stumbled here deep in the Georgia pines. He’s handled the triumphs and defeats like a gentleman, every bit as impressive as his 320-yard tee shots.

“I want to win this golf tournament,” said McIlroy, “and I want to finish on the lowest score possible, and whoever is ahead of me, I just want to finish one shot better.”

One shot, the margin by which he how trails the leader. One shot, which can be the result of his own birdie or a bogey by the man whom he had trailed.

McIlroy had been No. 1 in the world rankings but now is No. 3, behind Jason Day and Spieth. In theory, they constitute what so many of us at the moment call the Big Three of golf.

“I can’t get wrapped up in that and buy into the Big Three,” said McIlroy. “Of course it’s great for the game, but when I’m out there playing and competing that’s absolutely not what I should be thinking about.

“I should be concentrating on myself and thinking about what I need to do to win this golf tournament, regardless of who else is up there.”

Which, of course, is the only way to beat everyone else who is up there.

S.F. Examiner: Spieth realizes greatness in Masters victory

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

AUGUSTA, Ga.— He closed the deal. Jordan Spieth came through as the best always do. Now we open the discussions. How good will this young man be?

Not that he isn’t good enough. After all, he has to be very good to win the Masters.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner 

Global Golf Post: Tiger Emerges From The Depths

By Art Spander
Global Golf Post

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — One question was answered. Tiger Woods still is an elite golfer. The no-less perplexing question remains. Will he ever win another major, another Masters?

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2015 Global Golf Post

Bleacher Report: Jordan's Jewel: Spieth's 2015 Masters Win an Unforgettable, Star-Making Display

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

AUGUSTA, Ga. — At an age almost too young and with talent almost too incredible, Jordan Spieth mastered the Masters as had only one other person in history — Tiger Woods.

Kicking any thought of competition deep into the Georgia pines, Spieth crushed not only the Augusta National Golf Club but the plans of some of golf’s current greats.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

S.F. Examiner: Spieth has waited a year to be back in this position

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

AUGUSTA, Ga. — He's one day and 18 holes from a dream. Jordan Spieth still is in front of the Masters. Three rounds, and nobody else has caught him. Now comes the round that matters, the round that means whether he gets the championship or more disappointment.

There's a theory that a golfer who challenges hard at Augusta one year often returns and wins the next year. Spieth, at 21, can only hope it holds true. And his game holds up.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner

S.F. Examiner: Spieth bids for greatness

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

AUGUSTA, Ga. — This is greatness realized. This is a kid who the golf experts said would be the next great American, playing like the next great American. This is the 21st century version of Tiger Woods, albeit without the Woods aura.

This is Jordan Spieth tramping around the sacred ground of Augusta National Golf Club as only people like Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson were supposed to do.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner

Bleacher Report: Will Jordan Spieth Handle the Pressure Cooker of a Sunday Lead at the Masters?

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

AUGUSTA, Ga. — After setting records on Friday and Saturday, despite a hiccup in his third round, Jordan Spieth faces the toughest test of all, in the hours before the final 18 holes of the 2015 Masters. He’s still in first, but is he in control? The night will seem to last forever.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Bleacher Report: Tiger Woods' New Reality: Will 2015 Masters Trigger Next Phase of His Career?

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

AUGUSTA, Ga.—  The final two rounds of the Masters will include Tiger Woods. He's very much a golfer — not a memory. Note to social security: Hold off enrolling Eldrick Woods for a long while.

Of all the athletes we watch — all right, sportsmen, if you choose — golfers have the longest competitive lifespan. The putting may be less stable and tee shots much shorter (on the second hole Friday, 65-year-old Tom Watson was 60 yards behind his partners, Danny Willett, 27, and Byron Meth, 21), but the adage holds true: it ain't how; it's how many.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 

S.F. Examiner: New Tiger still upbeat despite struggles

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

AUGUSTA, Ga. — One round and nine behind. Tiger Woods is off and — stumbling? Maybe, probably not. A man doesn’t sit out tournament golf for nearly two months then dominate the Masters, an event comprised of competitors who fit that designation. That’s not a bad beginning for him.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner 

Bleacher Report: Tom Watson Enjoys Augusta Glory Once Again with Memorable Round at 2015 Masters

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The last we saw or heard of Tom Watson, a classy guy who had the misfortune of being the captain of an American Ryder Cup team that vocally disagreed with his leadership, he was being torn down by much of the media and some of the golfers—most notably Phil Mickelson.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2015 Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

S.F. Examiner: Masters is fitting place for Woods comeback

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Now it’s up to you, Tiger. You say your back is fine. Or so you think. You say your game is fine. Or so you hope. It’s time to show us if Tiger Woods can play like, well, Tiger Woods. 

“I worked my ass off,” you told us Tuesday about returning to tournament play after the two-month break you chose — or maybe you needed — following a miserable couple of weeks in Phoenix and San Diego. We’re watching if the work pays off.

Read the full story here.

© 2015 The San Francisco Examiner