Tiger Woods lately appears more kind, more gentle, warmer and fuzzier which he was not known for such in years back.
He would rather look right through people on the golf course than relate to them when they are off it.
Road to winning 79 tournaments, with 14 majors, Woods was a lone wolf who never wanted anyone as he shattered records. Currently, he surprisingly sounds like someone who craves companionship with his colleagues. People feel it’s weird.
Woods, who shot a 1-over 73 in Thursday’s first round of the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Golf Club, happens to be the oldest player in this week’s field, more than 10 years older than six of his 17 fellow competitors. He clocked 41 on 30th of December.
If everyone could notice Woods since before he won the first of his 14 career majors in 1997, he hardly sounded like his old self in his pre-tournament press conference when he spoke with desire about missing the camaraderie among the players on the PGA Tour.
“I suppose what most people find difficult to understand is how much of a fraternity this tour really is,’’ Woods said. “The amount of dinners I’ve been out for with the guys, the texts, the phone calls over the last couple of months, the guys wanted me to come back out here and play or help in any way possible.’’
His words are surprising compared to the Woods we know, whose tournament routine used to go like: Pull into the tournament parking lot, swag into the practice range with his golf spikes already on, play his round and then walk straight back to his car and drive off without communicating with anyone in the locker room. The players who came away from that experience were feeling like they saw another Tiger Woods.
