Tiger’s recovery still long way to go

Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga.

Except for watching Phil Mickelson slip into another green jacket, Tiger Woods should have few complaints about his week at the Masters.

He tied a tournament record by making four eagles. He was never out of the top 10 from the opening round. He had his best 72-hole score at Augusta National in five years.

None of that might have been possible without a spontaneous and warm reception on the first tee Thursday.

Woods might have looked like the same player, but he wasn’t the same person. The fans who came to watch his golf could not ignore the sordid lifestyle that kept him away from the game in the first place.

That’s why the cheers were so important.

They put him at ease from the start, and he felt more comfortable as the week went on, even as his swing got worse.

“Overall, it was a good week,” Woods said Sunday after he tied for fourth.

The next step?

Woods didn’t say when he would play again. He said he needed to “take a little time off and kind of re-evaluate things.” If he sticks to a normal schedule, Woods could show up at Quail Hollow or The Players Championship or even the Memorial. Those are the three places he typically plays before the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Just don’t get the idea the next step will be forward.

Woods set himself up for failure when he pledged to tone down his temper — the celebrations and the cursing. He caused quite the stir in the opening round when he flung his iron to the ground after an errant shot to the 14th. A year ago, no one would have noticed. Now, it was proof that Woods hadn’t changed a lick.

He seemed to reach a boiling point when CBS Sports analyst Peter Kostis asked him about controlling his emotion without eliminating it.

“I think people are making way too much of a big deal of this thing,” Woods said. “I was not feeling good. I hit a big snipe off the first hole, and I don’t know how people can think I should be happy about that. I hit a wedge from 45 yards and basically bladed it over the green. These are not things I normally do. So I’m not going to be smiling, and not going to be happy.”

There is some truth to that. Woods at least showed some signs of improvement with his temper, and he was more engaging with the fans over four days than he had been over the last 14 years.

This could be a long year. The Masters might have looked like a start, but for Woods, it was more like spring training.