FARMINGDALE, N. Y. – Tiger Woods earned his post-Masters victory lap that has consumed the golf world ever since the final putt dropped at…
FARMINGDALE, N. Y. – Tiger Woods earned his post-Masters victory lap that has consumed the golf world ever since the final putt dropped at Augusta National.
Major No. 15 will always mean more than most. The effort it required was well worth putting golf on hold for a while, keeping that party going and letting the weight of the moment sink in.
But there comes a time when the band stops playing and the lights come back on and everyone slowly exits to face whatever comes next.
For Woods, that meant a return to the grind of competition Thursday in Round 1 of the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.
The transition isn’t always a smooth one.
“It wasn’t as clean as I’d like to have it, for sure,” Woods said.
The reigning Masters champ made two double bogeys and three-putted three times en route to a 2-over 72. It left him right in the middle of the pack Thursday afternoon and disappointed with the way it all unfolded.
Woods appeared stoic and focused all morning, eyes straight forward walking from green to tee, back in full competitive mode after weeks of interviews and honors and a legitimately touching speech from the White House Rose Garden while receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Woods shared the celebration with everyone close to him, including caddie Joe LaCava, but Thursday served as a reminder that it wasn’t a retirement party.
