Tiger Woods Makes Progress With His Swing, Shoots 67 At The Greenbrier
Coming off a missed cut at the U.S. Open where he shot a horrendous first round 80, Tiger Woods seems to have found his swing this week at the Greenbrier Classic and showed the golfing world a few flashes of brilliance once displayed by the Tiger of old.
Woods carded a clean three-under par 67 in Sunday’s final round at the Greenbrier, and finished at seven-under par total in a tie for 32nd. Sunday’s final round was the first time in 56 competitive rounds played that the former world No. 1 went bogey free. This week also marks the first tournament this entire season that Woods has shot three rounds in the 60s. It is hard to imagine that prior to this week’s event, Tiger posted only three rounds in the 60s along with three rounds in the 80s.
On Sunday, Woods birdied the par four fourth and sixth holes to shoot 32 on the front nine and added a lone birdie at the par five 12th on his inward nine. According to stats provided by the PGA Tour, Tiger hit 12 out of 14 fairways and 15 out of 18 greens, numbers that show his much improved ball striking both with his irons and off the tee.
According to reports by ESPN, Woods spoke to the media after his round and discussed his progress with his swing changes and how he feels confident heading into the Open Championship.
“I made a big, giant step at Memorial. The pattern was set. I just had to refine it. This week we did that. We definitely refined it…. I was excited about what I was able to do at Memorial, even though I shot those high numbers, shifting the baseline like I did. I’m here now in this position. I’m very excited about that.”
After battling all season long with short game woes, swing changes, and an erratic driver off the tee, Tiger seems to have found something this week at the Greenbrier. Now, there were still erratic tee shots that went in water hazards and out of bounds; his bad swings cost him two double bogeys during the week. But some of the swings he made produced flushed iron shots that landed only a few feet from the hole and perfect drives down the center of the fairway. Woods is still inconsistent; his tempo can get quick at times, but he’s certainly more in control of his swing this week than any other week so far this year.
Tiger will make his next start at the Open Championship in two weeks, and he heads into the season’s third major championship confident in the work he has put in. He’s optimistic, and rightfully so, after his encouraging performance at the Greenbrier, but one decent week doesn’t mean he’ll automatically be in contention at the British Open, nor does it mean his swing will hold up on a major championship stage. For now, Woods is making small strides to regain control and find new confidence in his swing. Once he’s consistently found his tempo and consistently executing his swing, then we might catch a glimpse of the true Tiger Woods we have been waiting to see all year long.
[Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images]
