Thursday, October 18, 2001
Woods returns to tour after five-week break
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — In morning darkness at Disney,
Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara changed into their golf shoes in
the parking lot Wednesday and were headed to the first tee when
two security guards asked for identification.
Woods, perhaps the most recognizable athlete in the world, held
out his driver's license, but that wasn't enough. They wanted
to see his PGA Tour badge.
“I don't have it,” Woods said after a brief search through
his pockets.
The guards looked at each other, unsure what to do next, and decided
to let him through the checkpoint to the Magnolia Course at Walt
Disney World.
“I think he's won this tournament a couple of times,”
O'Meara assured them. “He's a pretty good player.”
The checkpoint is part of a new security measure at Disney, although
the guards could hardly be blamed if they didn't recognize Woods.
He returns to the PGA Tour for the first time in five weeks at
the National Car Rental Classic.
Not even Woods is sure what to expect.
“I could come out a little rusty — it's part of taking
time off,” Woods said. “But I could turn that around
and use it as a positive, come out fresh, hit the ball well and
putt it well. You don't know until you get a chance to experience
it.”
Woods last played on tour at the Canadian Open, where he shared
the lead after the first round but lost a ball in the trees and
finished the week at Royal Montreal in a tie for 23rd, 10 strokes
back.
He was in St. Louis for the American Express Championship when
the tournament was called off because the terrorist attacks. He
canceled his trip to Paris for the Lancome Trophy, and then the
Ryder Cup was postponed for one year.
“Obviously, things weren't supposed to work out this way,”
he said. “It worked out the best for me because I had time
to rest up physically, mentally and get things back in order.”
Woods also took a five-week break at this time last year, returning
to go 3-2 in the Presidents Cup matches. In fact, he has won five
times when coming back from a layoff that lasted at least three
weeks.
“I'm itching to get with it, go out there and compete,”
Woods said. “For me, five weeks is a long time. I feel like
I'm mentally ready, physically ready and I just want to compete
again, something I love to do.”
Wednesday's practice round was hardly competitive, and not just
because Disney is a rare tournament where carts are allowed in
practice.
It was so dark at 7 a.m. when Woods, O'Meara and John Cook teed
off that they couldn't see their drives down the first fairway.
They went straight to the second tee instead of waiting for the
maintenance worker to finish mowing the green.
Plus, there were no spectators. There are no tickets for the practice
rounds, and Disney this year tightened its security by not allowing
weekly ticket-holders onto the course until Thursday. With only
two reporters and three photographers in tow, the 44-year-old
O'Meara joked that it would be nice to play a tournament in front
of so few people.
“You'll get that in six years,” Cook replied, alluding
to the Senior Tour.
They finished nine holes in 1 hour, 5 minutes (Woods took only
10 minutes longer to play an 18-hole practice round by himself
last year) and were done by 9:45 a.m.
The real test starts Thursday, with a sizable gallery tagging
along.
Four tournaments have been played since Sept. 11, although none
featured golf's top drawing card. All spectators are subject to
having bags checked, and that included the golf bags of Woods
and O'Meara before they were allowed onto the course.
Woods already has had his share of problems. A man was arrested
for boisterous behavior in Phoenix two years ago and was found
to have a gun in his backpack. He was tripped up by an autograph
hound at Pebble Beach this year and hyperextended his knee.
“The galleries are right next to you,” Woods said. “That's
one of the things we pride ourselves in, the accessibility of
it. But that's also one of the dangers.”
Is he concerned?
“No,” he replied. “I've had to deal with this ever
since I turned pro.”
Woods, who already has clinched the PGA of America's player of
the year award, will be trying to win for the sixth time this
year, and the Magnolia and Palm courses have treated him kindly.
He has won twice in five years, and a year ago tied for third
when Duffy Waldorf had a 10-under 62 in the final round.
“I'm just going to go out there and try my best and see what
happens,” Woods said. “I'm swinging the club well enough
to shoot halfway decent scores, but a tournament is a tournament.”
A tournament is something he hasn't experienced in five weeks.
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