Is Tiger just teasing us, or is the 65 for real?

It抯 only one round. And while it抯 a very nice round, a solid round, a round good enough to own a share of the lead after 18 holes of The Barclays, it抯 still just one round.

But when it抯 Tiger Woods ?the guy who抯 ranked as the world抯 top golfer but who certainly hasn抰 played like it this year ?then it抯 really more than just one round.

Is his 6-under 65 on Thursday a statement that Tiger抯 back for good? That the return to Tiger-like domination has officially started? That his ranking of 112th in FedExCup points will soon be replaced by a position in the single digits?

Or is it just a blip on the screen, like that third-round 66 was earlier this year at the U.S. Open?

We won抰 know until later this week, of course, whether this was simply a flash of brilliance or a sign of things to come. But if you抮e surprised that Tiger Woods shot 65 ?his lowest round of the year ?to open his FedExCup title defense, then you probably don抰 carry a PGA TOUR card in your wallet.

"We抳e been telling everybody it抯 only a matter of time," Brandt Snedeker said. "Nobody抯 been listening to us. Everybody抯 been trying to write him off.

"I think he抯 getting ready to prove all the guys on TOUR right ?that he is that good."

Vaughn Taylor, the author of the "other" 65 on Thursday, certainly wasn抰 scratching his head, trying to remember who that guy was next to his name on the leaderboard.

"I don抰 think anybody is surprised when he plays well," Taylor said. "Just looks like if he tweaked his swing and made a couple putts, he抎 be right back in there."

Maybe the closure in his personal life has helped clear Tiger抯 mind. But perhaps the more important developoment, at least as it pertains to Woods?golf game, is the work he抯 been doing with Sean Foley.

Although Foley hasn抰 officially been announced as Tiger抯 new swing coach, he抯 certainly looking better and better during the interview process. Woods sounded positively giddy to "hit the ball flush like this again."

Foley received an audition at the PGA Championship and even though Tiger didn抰 contend, he finished tied for 28th and had four rounds he could at least build on.

"Seemed like he had something going better at the PGA," Adam Scott said. "?If he抯 got a nice, good feeling, swing with something new and fresh ?we all feel good after that. For him to piece things together, I think, can抰 be too hard. He抯 very good."

Other than Taylor, there was no one better on Thursday. Woods hit 13 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. If you抮e into percentages, that抯 92 percent on fairways (tied for highest in the field) and 83 percent on greens.

Compare that to Tiger抯 averages coming in ?55.3 percent on fairways (ranking him 180th on TOUR) and 62.6 percent on greens (ranking him 174th).

That would be what we in the media world like to call "noticeable differences."

"Obviously, he抯 better," Scott Verplank said. "This is not a golf course you can slap it around. You can抰 hit it all over the place and get away with it. I would assume that whoever he抯 working with is helping him."

TOUR pros, of course, have an easier time winning tournaments when Tiger抯 off his game. But you shouldn抰 assume that dread and dismay were their prevalent emotions upon seeing that 65 on Thursday.

Players are smart enough to know that Tiger at his best is good for the game.

"Unlike what most people think, we want him playing his best," Snedeker said. "We抮e fans, too. We like to see guys do stuff that we can抰 do.

"So we want him playing his best. It makes us better, pushes us to be better."

But it needs to be more than just one round, one 65. The next three days, we抣l find out just how close Tiger is to playing at his best again, starting with Friday when he tees off at 12:10 p.m. ET. That抯 five hours later than his Thursday tee time when he was in the first group.

Unlike in the first round, Woods won抰 have the benefit Friday of untrampled greens for nine holes, and the winds will likely be more of a factor.

"I don抰 know," Verplank said with complete deadpan humor. "That (65) might be a flash in the pan."

So far, it抯 just one 65. But a few more from Tiger this week will change the entire complexion of the Playoffs.