Tight back gets best of Tiger Woods at Memorial, but it's not as bad you think

Steve DiMeglio | USA TODAY

DUBLIN, Ohio — One thing or another keeps holding Tiger Woods back.

Now add a tight back to the list.

In his eight starts in his return to the game, one piece of the puzzle has kept Woods from being whole. Earlier this year, he couldn’t find the planet with his driver. Then he misfired repeatedly with his short irons in the Masters. Then his putting was miserable in Charlotte.

Momentum was hard to sustain as he tried to find the rhythm of playing professional golf again, such as when Woods had Bay Hill rocking on Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational before he drove his ball out of bounds on the 70th hole to end his chances at victory No. 80. Two poor sand wedges, the second that found the H2O on the famous island green at TPC Sawgrass, silenced his late charge in The Players Championship.

And in Thursday’s first round of the Memorial Tournament, Jack Nicklaus’ annual gathering of the game’s best players at Muirfield Village where Woods has won a record five times, another obstacle emerged — his troublesome back was tight throughout the round.

More: Tiger Tracker: Tiger's round at the Memorial shot-by-shot

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Before anyone sounded the alarm bells, however, Woods tempered fears that his back would once again be his downfall. Yes, he’s had four back surgeries, the latest a spinal fusion more than a year ago. But he downplayed the situation that stifled his play, saying, with a smile, it was no biggie.

“I'm going to have days where it's just tight. Unfortunately, today was one of those days and that's all right,” Woods said after he signed for an even-par 72 that left him well back of the leaders. “I just have days like that. It's aging and it's the surgeries. It is what it is. Just got to make the adjustments. But I'm able to make them now.

“I don't have any pain, thank God. It's just tight.”

Woods certainly didn’t look right early in his round. He saved par from a fairway bunker on his first hole – the 10th – but then dumped a ball into the water on the 11th for bogey. On the 15th, his tee shot was closer to a house than the fairway, an out-of-bounds drive that led to a double-bogey 7. Then he bogeyed the 16th from a greenside bunker.

But Woods became Dr. Jekyll after his Hyde-like opening nine and salvaged the round. Despite a three-putt bogey from 21 feet on the fourth, Woods made four birdies and mustered up some hope for the weekend.

“I wasn't quite feeling that well and just had to make a few adjustments and I was able to make them on the fly, which was nice,” Woods said. “I made a few tweaks in my swing, my setup, and lo and behold I was able to make some good swings on the back nine. It was nice to somehow grind out the round, turn it around, and finish even par. Lunch will taste a lot better.”

It would have tasted even better if Woods would have devoured the red meat of all golf courses like he did back in the day, the par-5s that tee up savory opportunities to score. Since 1997, Woods has made 1,856 birdies on the par-5s on the PGA Tour, 149 eagles and 1,491 pars in 3,717 holes.

From 1997-2009, he led the Tour in scoring average on par-5s in 10 of those years. This year he’s ranked No. 85 and a bogey on the 11th and a double on the 15th won’t improve that standing. There’s another part of the game he needs to get back to mastering.

And he will. He’s too good not to. Woods remains confident he’ll put his whole game together for four rounds. Earlier this week, Nicklaus said Woods had to learn how to win again, but that he would figure it out.

Pat Perez, who has known Woods since they met when they were 8 years old, also said Woods will figure it out. Many others among his peers agree.

“He’s enjoying the fact he’s out here again and he’s excited as hell to be playing again,” Perez said. “He’s happy. He’s at peace. His life outside the ropes is in a great spot.

“And now he feels like Superman again. He doesn’t hurt anymore. He has all the shots. Heck, he didn’t play for two years so he needs time. But he’s going to win again. It’s just a matter of time.”