Rozner: Latest Tiger comeback brings excitement, fear

It really wasn't fair.

It was like the years in which you could find "It's a Wonderful Life" on a different channel every night between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

You watched it every time. Couldn't pass it by. Not fair.

Tuesday on the Golf Channel was like that. One Tiger Woods major championship victory after another, some the most dominant in history, some squeakers.

After Woods shot a record 12-under at Pebble in the 2000 U.S. Open to win by a record 15 shots - yes, 15 shots - the great Tom Watson said, "Everybody else is playing for second place, and everyone else knows it."

The field averaged 76. Woods averaged 68.

Said Notah Begay, "Tiger comes out here to beat the (heck) out of everyone. He'd rather beat you by 8 than by 7. And if he can beat you by 10, he will."

No other player was under par.

Said second-place finisher Ernie Els, "It seems like we're not playing in the same ballpark right now. He's the Michael Jordan of our sport."

Woods was never over par at any point in the tournament.

Said Stuart Appleby, "It's perfect golf."

Woods had zero 3-putts in four days on U.S. Open greens.

On Sunday, he did not make a bogey. At the U.S. Open. In the final round.

Said Fred Couples, "He plays a different game than everyone else. It's not a competition."

It was the start of the Tiger Slam.

If it feels like a long time ago, it's because it was. His last major championship came in 2008 and his last win came in 2013, when he was Player of the Year with 5 victories.

The reason for the Woods marathon on Golf Channel, which continues Wednesday, is because he returns to action Thursday at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

He says he is pain-free after a fourth back surgery (in three years) in April, but a year ago in the Bahamas we were told the same. He was obviously hurting at Torrey Pines in January and then pulled out of an event in Dubai in February.

The legend is growing again after word that he was outdriving Dustin Johnson last Friday in Florida. Rickie Fowler has said much the same. Patrick Reed is gushing.

"He looked excited to be playing golf," Reed told Golf Channel after playing with Woods on Monday. "I was shocked how fluid his swing looked and how far the golf ball was going.

"He's always been a little longer than me, but some of those drives today, he got out there."

So the excitement is soaring, and it's understandable. Most golf fans want to see Woods at full strength and winning again, but we've been teased by these starts and stops the last few years.

So will his back hold up this time, at the age of 41 and after so much damage done?

"I'm going to be 42 here soon. It's overuse syndrome," Woods told Golf Channel on Sunday. "I've been playing tournament golf for 37 years, so I've hit a lot of golf balls. There are certain areas of my body that are worn out.

"It could be the next step. I just don't know and that's tough to live with. It's been a struggle for years.

"To finally come out on the good side of it, it's exciting. I am stiffer. I'm fused. But I don't have the pain, and if I don't have the pain life is so much better."

Reed is convinced that Woods is healthy after what he saw Monday in the Bahamas.

"He'll be rusty (but) he'll figure it out at some point, and when he does I'll be waiting," Reed said. "I'd love to be able to turn back time and be able to pop out in '99 through 2001. Growing up watching it, I'd love to be able to actually play against it and compete against it."

Woods will win again if he can stay healthy, of that there is no doubt here, but with every swing he takes there is risk it will be his last.

"I'm winging this," he said at a Tuesday news conference. "I don't know what my body can and cannot do yet."

Every time he whips the driver, you watch for signs.

Every time he hacks one out of the deep rough, you wonder.

Every time he digs down from a steep bunker, you wince.

The next, and seemingly last, Tiger Woods comeback begins Thursday.

On every swing, you might want to hold your breath.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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