The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 05/17/16

5/17/2016

Return of Tiger Still Unclear

Tiger Woods is confident he is making progress, but remains cautious over setting any date for a potential competitive return to the golf course.

The former world number one has not played since finishing joint 10th in the Wyndham Championship last year, after which he underwent two back operations in the space of six weeks.

Last month Woods, a 14-time major winner, played five holes with former Open and Masters champion Mark O’Meara at the official opening of the course he designed at Bluejack National Golf Club, and has taken part in casual games at Medalist, a club near his Florida home.

However, the 40-year-old American found it tough going on Monday when hitting three successive balls into the water as he took part in a ceremonial hole-in-one competition on the 102-yard 10th tee at the media day for the upcoming Quicken Loans National, which his foundation hosts at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Woods, now down to 524 in the rankings, faced the familiar question about his fitness update at the event.

“That’s the overriding question I keep hearing, when are you coming back, when are you playing? I hear it all the time, and if I knew, I would tell you, because it’d be fun to know, it would be nice to know that I am actually going to be playing on such and such a date, but I don’t know,” he said, in a press conference broadcast by www.pgatour.com.

Woods has registered for the US Open at Oakmont in June, although that was something he had to do ahead of the deadline to keep his options open.

“I have been practising at home, and I am progressing nicely, I am hoping to play (again soon),” Woods added.

“I am still trying to get stronger, trying to get more pliable.

“I am hitting the ball better and everything about my game is coming around.

“Now it’s just a matter of being more consistent with it, and then being able to do that not only at home against the boys at Medalist and trying to take their cash — trying to come out here and doing it against the best players in the world is a completely different deal.”

Lowry Eyes K Cub for Irish Win

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Shane Lowry is at a loss to explain his fluctuating fortunes during many of his tournaments this year as he prepares for an assault on this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club.

Lowry’s season has been peppered with sensational starts but underwhelming subsequent rounds and it was the same story last weekend, where the Offaly man registered rounds of 65 and 68 before a disastrous 78 ended his chance of victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

“If you look at it historically, I’ve been pretty average in opening rounds and I play my way into tournaments.

“I just need to learn to keep the foot on the pedal.

“I was probably only two shots away from really thinking I had a chance going out last Sunday, so I’m not that far away.

“Hopefully, this week is the week where I can make that change and play well for four rounds.”

Lowry caused a huge upset when he claimed the Irish Open as an amateur in Baltray seven years ago today, but struggles to recall the detail of what should have been an unforgettable day.

Asked about what he remembered of his landmark win in Louth, he said: “Not much, to be honest.

“Obviously, it was a day that changed my life.

“Well, I’m not sure if I wouldn’t be sitting here anyway, but it changed the course of my career a little bit anyway.

“I don’t really remember much.

“I just remember from looking back on videos and photos of just winning.

“I can only imagine how it felt - I don’t know how it felt at the time. I’d love to go back and relive it for a few seconds.

“It’s something I’ll look back at as I get older and older, and when I’m old and retired and finished playing golf, I’m sure I’ll look back at those videos and think ‘yeah, that was pretty cool’.”

The 29-year-old may have ticked the Irish Open of his bucket list, but is now keen to achieve an amateur-professional double in the event.

“Even if I hadn’t won it as an amateur, to win it as a pro would be one of my goals,” he said.

“To have that on your CV - winning your home tournament as an amateur and a pro - would be pretty nice.”