Up Close, Tiger Woods' First Round Back Answered Plenty Of Questions

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods stood on the 9th tee, peered at a bunker and felt the wind.

“How far to cover that, Joey?”

Two-hundred sixty yards, his caddie told him. Into the wind, with this edition of his body, at this stage of his recovery? That was asking a lot. Woods stood behind the ball, sizing up the shot. He stepped to it. And then he hit a weak drop-kick that skittered off the toe, way right, and flew towards immediate trouble.

Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 12-year-old son, piped up.

“Nice shot.”

Tiger stopped. He glared. Then he grinned. He tossed a broken tee in his son’s direction, the way fathers have done to impudent sons since the golf tee’s invention.

That was the day in a nutshell: Woods returning to golf in the public eye, testing his limits, enjoying the company of his son. In person it was a slow day, a five-and-a-half hour PNC Pro-Am round at the Ritz-Carlton. A modest crowd followed Team Woods throughout the day, baking in the 86-degree Orlando sun. And in the process, he answered a number of burning questions that, until now, had been left to pure speculation.

Let’s answer nine of ’em.

1. How’s he walking?

Hmm. Okay? Not very well? Four out of 10? Woods had a noticeable limp when he arrived on site just before 8 a.m. He eased his way through a warm-up, building speed gradually. And he took a golf cart for all 18 holes, walking just short distances from the cart to his ball each time.

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Woods does not deny that his walking is a limitation. If anything, he’s hyper-aware. Friday made it clear that walking is likely the single factor that will delay Woods’ return to competitive golf.

“I couldn’t walk this golf course even right now, and it’s flat,” he said. “I don’t have the endurance. “My leg is not quite right yet and it’s going to take time.”

2. What’s his speed like?

It’s hardly Bryson-esque, but Woods is swinging it plenty fast. Is he hitting the ball as hard as he wants? No. As hard as he used to? Also no. Especially warming up, he (understandably) seemed to have a hard time loading onto his right leg, which limited him slightly.

But he’s also swinging much faster than he’d like you to believe. Asked last week for current ball speed numberes, Woods slyly told Golf Digest that his son was hitting it past him. On Friday that was demonstrably untrue. Instead, Woods seems to be about a club shorter than he’s used to with his irons — and some equivalent distance behind with driver. Still, he hit at least one tee shot 300 yards down the middle.

“I just don’t have the speed, you know?” Woods said. “It is what it is. The ball doesn’t fly as far. I can’t generate the speed I used to and, you know, the body is not what it used to be.”