Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Editor
NASSAU, Bahamas — Upcoming the primary aggressive spherical of his actual comeback, Tiger Woods stated his surgically repaired proper bedrock and ankle held up neatly over the outlet 18 holes on the Hero Global Problem on Thursday.
That doesn’t ruthless the 15-time main champion wasn’t hurting.
“My leg, my back, my neck,” Timbers stated when requested what used to be sore. “Just from playing, hitting shots and trying to hold off shots. It’s just different at game speed, too. Game speed’s a lot different than at-home speed.”
It more than likely didn’t topic that Timbers carded a 3-over 75 within the first spherical, which used to be excellent for 18th park out of 20 golfers, 8 photographs at the back of co-leaders Brian Harman and Tony Finau. Or that Timbers used to be 4 over within the ultimate 4 holes later he perceived to running over of gasoline.
What more than likely mattered, a minimum of for Timbers, used to be that he used to be in a position to play games a spherical of aggressive golfing with out the excruciating ache he skilled on the Masters in April, when he used to be compelled to pull back throughout the 3rd spherical.
Timbers, who turns 48 nearest age, had subtalar fusion surgical procedure on his proper ankle two weeks later the Masters to handle post-traumatic arthritis that used to be brought about by way of accidents suffered in a automobile devastate out of doors Los Angeles in February 2021.
“I was going to have to have this ankle either replaced or fused at some point,” Timbers stated. “It just wore out and I was dealing with bone-on-bone for a number of months. I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Taking part in in his first PGA Excursion tournament in additional than seven months, Timbers used to be rusty. He carded 5 bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-5 fifteenth, the perfect gap at the route. Timbers accident most effective six of 13 fairways and 10 of 18 vegetables in law. He misplaced 2.09 strokes to the ground on method.
Timbers stated he used to be by no means completely relaxed over the ball.
“The middle part of my round, it was a lack of commitment, and it kind of carried into some of the final holes,” Timbers stated. “I didn’t commit over some of the shots. I was kind of squirrely about whether I should hit this shot, this height, this trajectory. The wind is puffing up, it’s not, it’s laying down. All the things you normally take for granted with feels and adjustments, I had a lack of commitment on a number of different shots.”
There have been some shining spots throughout the spherical. Timbers beaten a 326-yard force on his opening tee shot and had excellent membership pace. He made birdie putts of twenty-two toes on Refuse. 3, 28 toes on Refuse. 5, 48 toes on Refuse. 11 and four 1/2 toes on Refuse. 14. He used to be 1 below later 14 holes.
“I wanted to compete, I wanted to play,” Timbers stated. “I felt like I was ready to compete and play. I hit it solid most of the day. As I said, I just didn’t mentally do the things I normally would do and I need to do. I still hit it solid, but I hit it crooked. I’ve always had a knack of hitting the ball in the middle of the face, but I need to do a better job where I need to hit it in my windows.”
Timbers could have 3 extra probabilities to do it this hour. The Hero Global Problem, an unofficial excursion tournament, is a 72-hole event without a trim.
