Tiger Woods looks to a trusted friend in opening round of the Northern Trust
"All of a sudden, heck with it, I’ll just put it in play and see how it goes, and it worked.”
Tiger Woods
called upon an old and faithful ally to help shoot an opening-round 68 at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston in Norton on Thursday. A Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS, Woods’s putter for 14 of his 15 major wins, was back in the bag.
Woods had gone away from his longtime putter for the PGA Championship earlier this month, opting for a different model with a longer shaft. The logic, in part, was to help prevent him from straining his surgically repaired back in order to putt.
The result was underwhelming, as Woods finished tied for 37th at TPC Harding Park. Since then, Woods continued to practice with the newer, longer version, as well as a Wilson putter.
So why did he suddenly decide to bring the Newport 2 GSS out of retirement?
“Just stubbornness, I guess,” Woods joked after his 3-under-par round. “When I was at home practicing, I didn’t really use this putter. I was practicing with the other one to make sure I could get some reps and get some feel, and all of a sudden, heck with it, I’ll just put it in play and see how it goes, and it worked.”
Asked if he could just re-shaft his favored putter to make it longer and help with his back, Woods acknowleged he was hesitant to change it after so many years.
“I’ve thought about doing that, but I don’t know,” Woods said. “I just can’t do it. I’ve re-gripped it. I’ve sent it to Scotty to rebuild the hosel because I’ve thrown it a few times. But I’ve never dinged the shaft. That’s the same shaft for the last 21 years. The hosel has been warped a few times, but it was still the original shaft.”
Mental approach
Bubba Watson sits one stroke off the lead after his opening-round 65.
However, in a post-round interview on Golf Channel, Watson spoke more about the mental aspect of his game, and his life away from the sport.
“Life is hard, on-course, off-course,” he said. “A lot of people don’t talk about it that much. I’ve been through a lot of mental issues, still going through them, still going to battle them the rest of my life, and just trying to work on that part.”
Watson said he’s been working on his breathing on the golf to help him calm down and relax.
Local connections
It was an up-and-down day for players with Massachusetts ties. South Hadley native Richy Werenski took a winding road to his 69. The 28-year-old made three consecutive birdies to start his day, gave two strokes back with bogeys at the ninth and 13th, and finished with another birdie on 18.
Keegan Bradley of Hopkinton, after two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, was even through 15 holes. But he finished with a flourish, birdieing 16-18 to finish with a 68.
Worcester’s Scott Stallings bogeyed his final two holes and posted a 72.
Different feeling
As has been the case since the PGA Tour returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no fans at the Northern Trust.
The biggest consequence is simple, especially in a tournament involving the most famous golfer in the world.
“We don’t have thousands upon thousands of people walking around this golf course,” noted Woods. “It’s a very different atmosphere.”
Yet it’s also affecting the geography of the course. Players are able to move around more freely between holes, though the lack of structure has additional effects.
“It’s very different,” said Woods. “Our walks are very different. Coming off the greens, there are no grandstands. The buildout is nowhere near what we had.”
Familiar faces
Even though TPC Boston is actually located in the town of Norton, the Northern Trust still had a city presence earlier this week.
Among the many cardboard cutout fans inside Fenway Park were 10 PGA Tour players. The group, which included Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau, represents the players with the most FedExCup points through last week’s Wyndham Championship.
The connection to Boston baseball stems from the Northern Trust’s charity work, which has raised money for local groups, including the Red Sox Foundation.
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