Reuters
Greensboro, August 22: Tiger Woods roared back after over a year in the wilderness to tie for the Wyndham Championship lead Friday and then said he didn’t expect it would take so long to return to a position that used to be second nature.
Less than three months after the worst round of his career, Woods looked more like the 14-times Major champion that he is as he recovered from a three-putt bogey at the first hole to card a five-under 65 in the second round at Sedgefield Country Club here.
It’s the first time Woods has held an end-of-round lead since he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in August 2013.
On 11-under 129, the 39-year-old shared the halfway lead with PGA Tour rookie Tom Hoge, one stroke ahead of fellow Americans Davis Love III (66) and Chad Campbell (65).
Woods, whose ranking has plunged to 286, downplayed his position, but his words could not disguise the look on his face of immense satisfaction.
“I’m only at the halfway point, We’ve still got a lot of golf to go,” Woods told reporters. “I wasn’t quite as sharp as yesterday (Thursday). I kept leaving my iron shots above the hole.”
Telling, he admitted that it had taken him a lot longer than expected to find his game after undergoing major back surgery last year, and then reworking his swing with new instructor Chris Como.
“My game has struggled at the beginning of the year … but I’ve stuck with it. Chris has been fantastic. He’s really helped me through this entire process,” Woods said.