PACIFIC PALISADES (Calif.) — Tiger Woods received a text from Joe LaCava last night.
LaCava texted that Tiger needed 10 extra minutes to chip and another 10 for putting after a poor Friday putting performance.
“Hint, hint,” LaCava said.
He continued, “You can’t keep his feet on the ground for that long.” He said, “I don’t want him to be on his feet for over an hour before he plays. I understand it. He must save himself for the round. He’s so focused on his health that he doesn’t pay enough attention to the short game. I told him that he’d played two competitive rounds at the PGA since May. Those were at St. Andrews. I am not going to beat him up. He would be expected to be rusty, but we are here to make it happen.
Tiger took LaCava’s message to heart, and was soon on the green to practice.
Tiger smiled and said, “I got there before Joey,”
LaCava stated, “I was there,” to correct the record. “But I was thrilled. He was there even before I expected him to.
Whether the extra practice made a difference is up to you, but Tiger scored a handy 4-under 67 in round. This was his highest score in all 12 rounds since last year’s Masters.
Woods lost 1.699 strokes in the field a day later, but he was still 5 for 6, and was saving par when he missed one green. The short stick was the highlight. He hit a 28-foot birdie at 14, and he lifted his putter 5 feet before it fell in the hole. There was no doubt. It’s hard to forget the Tiger trademark putter raise.
“I have always liked to hook my putts so I tried to feel like I was going back to releasing more of the putter blade with my right hand and more release. He said that he hated the feeling of being stuck yesterday and couldn’t stand it.
Woods almost had an albatross at par-5, but that birdie and the eagle at the fifth put him at 5 under for the day. Only one bogey at No. A special performance was marred by a bogey at No. He was tied for 26 th, and 12 strokes behind Jon Rahm.
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Tiger pointed out that LaCava and he had not been able to work together in Florida prior to the tournament, as they usually do.
“He surprised me midweek last week that it was something he was thinking about.” LaCava stated, “I didn’t know he was so close.”
He did he think Tiger’s swing would be producing such speed by now?
He said, “No.” He told me about it. Although I don’t call him a liar, I thought it was a good idea to believe it once I see it.
He’s seen it all. This week Tiger has been a good player in the distance department. Matthias Schwab and Christiaan Begzuidenhout formed a trio with Tiger. They said that Chris outdroved them on nearly every hole.
While LaCava waited to Tiger finish his media obligations, Harris English passed by and congratulated LaCava on a job well done.
LaCava stated, “Just getting out the way.” “That’s all I do.”
