Sign in/Register 
He's back. No question. Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods once more.
Out of the Woods
No, he didn't win. But no, we can't ignore him. A mixed bag of five birdies and four bogeys left him 1-under after an opening round of 70, before a sublime showing on Friday catapulted him into contention. A lone bogey at the ninth- his final hole- would have sent most players into the weekend struggling to maintain focus and confidence and, subsequently, form. But Tiger Woods is not most players. Saturday saw the 14-time major champion go one better (literally) with a 4-under 67. The scorecard doesn't tell the full story, though. Tiger silenced his critics off-the-tee as worries about his back went up in smoke. If he silenced his critics off-the-tee, his classy short game left them- and everybody else- utterly speechless.
Whilst the final day wasn't quite what he would have hoped for, Tiger punished any viewers who switched off early by sinking a 44-foot birdie on the last. Typical Tiger.
Whatever your opinion on Tiger Woods may be (and we all have one), the final round viewing figures, the reaction to his final putt, the non-stop talk of his Masters potential... this is a wonderful advert for golf.
The Forgotten Tournament
They say that nobody ever remembers the runners-up, and that will be the case for Patrick Reed, who finished T2. But the man who shared second-place with Reed- a certain Tiger Woods- has cast a shadow over Paul Casey's victory in Florida. Poor Paul Casey will be left with nothing but a PGA Tour victory, a shedload of Ryder Cup points, five-spot rise in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and a million dollars. How could you not feel sorry for the Englishman? I mean, imagine the hassle of exchanging that into sterling... and with the exchange rate as it is! My heart goes out to you, Mr Casey.
Anyway, back to the tournament. Round one saw Canadian rookie Corey Connors take the clubhouse lead with a 4-under 67. Connors continued to impress with -2 on Friday to lead at 6-under heading into the weekend; two clear of Tiger, Brand Snedeker, Ryan Palmer, Kelly Kraft and eventual winner Paul Casey. Rory McIlroy bowed out early as a -3, -2 saw him miss the cut despite opening with ten consecutive pars. The shot of the tournament came from Justin Rose at the par-5 eleventh on day 3 as he holed an eagle from 120 yards; rolling down the flagstick to land directly into the hole. The pressure on Connors continued to mount as Tiger and Snedeker closed the gap to one, along with Englishman Rose following his -5 round.
The Innisbrook Resort Copperhead course staged an awesome Sunday of golf. Connors couldn't hold his nerve as he hit four bogeys and a double to go 6-over on the day and 3-under for the tournament, leaving him at a disappointing T16. Sergio Garcia surged up the leaderboard with a -6 final round to steal fourth spot, whilst Rose slipped to 1-over to share T5 with South Africa's Rory Sabbatini. Woods ensured wire-to-wire sub-par rounds with a -1, but Paul Casey ensure that the 44-foot birdie putt on the seventeenth was too little too late as he topped the field for the second time of the PGA Tour with -6 for the day and -10 for the tournament.
The victory is the first for Casey since the 2014 KLM Open and will undoubtedly launch him back into contention for a Ryder Cup place.
Paul Casey - What's in the Bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M4
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M1
Hybrid: TaylorMade M3
Irons: Mizuno MP-25 (4), Mizuno MP-5 (5-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circle T
Golf Ball: Titleist ProV1
Written by Joe Carabini
