Woods Flounders In Return As Matsuyama Surges On
By Andah John with Agency report
Tiger Woods delivered the good, bad and ugly, as he finished 14 shots back in his much anticipated comeback to golf .
Woods, back in action after being sidelined for nearly 16 months due to back-related issues, endured a roller-coaster afternoon which included five birdies and three double-bogeys.
He closed with a 76 for 15th place at four-under.
Good to be back, but…
“I think it was a great week, to be back playing again and competing, playing against the best players in the world,” Woods said in an interview.
“Unfortunately I made a lot of mistakes this week, made a lot of birdies but a lot of mistakes.
Woods struggling with fitness?
“I made some poor decisions, missed the ball in the wrong spots and quite frankly it feels a little weird not to play in a cart,” said Woods. who ran up a six at the par-four last after his tee shot ended up in an unplayable position in a bush.
“So, it’s a little different and I am getting used to that, getting my legs back and getting my body back, focusing for a long period of time.
“And these are all things that I have missed for about a year and a half.”
Matsuyama wins 4th tourney
Meanwhile, Golf’s hottest player in the past two months Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama survived a shaky back nine to clinch his fourth win in five starts on Sunday.
The Japanese did this with a two-stroke victory at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Matsuyama ended a dominant week with his worst round, a one-over 73 at the Albany course on the island of New Providence.
The 24-year-old Japanese, seven strokes ahead overnight in the elite 18-man event, birdied two of the first nine holes.
He then shrugged off a double at the 10th and a bogey at the 14th as he posted an 18-under total of 270 in blustery conditions.
Stenson finishes in second
Also, British Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden eagled the par-five ninth on the way to a 68 and second place. While Americans Dustin Johnson (71), Rickie Fowler (69) and Matt Kuchar (70) were a further three strokes back.
