Wary Woods needs more telling moments to dispel shades of grey

There was just a hint of a fist pump on the seventh hole when Tiger Woods slotted his fourth birdie of the round. But whatever air the pump put into Tiger soon leaked out as he played his final 11 holes in a flat one over par. He won抰 be up on the jacks overnight, but he抯 still not firing on all cylinders.
For much of this week Woods has played and dressed like a bank manager. Admittedly it would be a surprise if he aped Ian Poulter and strode onto the first tee in a stars and stripes bodysuit.
But he doesn抰 usually wear so much grey and his golf has been conservatively similar. He has sat in his office stacking pars, giving dictation to Steve Williams and occasionally peeping out through the blinds to see the world catching up with him.
And if we thought he had just been nudging himself into position over the first two days before raining blows down on the course we were soon disabused. Whilst swing-alike Adam Scott, Woods抯 third-round partner, smashed a driver off the first tee, Woods prodded an iron down the middle of the fairway.
But on this occasion the quality of his approach to the green was high enough to set up an opening birdie. More would follow, but there was too little thrill to buoy up the skill.
The frustrating thing about it all is that Woods looks as close to his game as he has for 24 months or so. But he won抰 trust it. His tiger headcover, that talks so New Yorkily in the commercials, could almost be heard saying: 揌ey chicken, I抦 not out here just to have a driver stuck up my butt all round. I want to get outta the bag and take a look around. Are you deaf? Hey, I said are you deaf? Don抰 walk away, I抦 talkin?to you.?br /> But Tiger has kept walking away. He put away his driver after the first round of last year抯 Open with good reason. But on the occasions that he has hit the driver at Troon, he has looked close to his old self. The misses are no longer wild and left or right. They are mainly just to the right and not by so far as to be painful.
There was one telling moment in the first round when Woods was treading water at level par when he came to the 16th tee. A burn runs across the hole and the prevailing wind usually forces the players to lay up.
But on so still a day Woods decided that he needed some momentum and powered his driver up and over to the far side. His playing partners, Lee Westwood and Greg Norman, had been up with Woods all day and were suckered in trying to emulate him. They both got wet.
There have been one or two other telling moments. On the eleventh hole of the first round Woods moved an iron back in his stance and guided a low one onto the green as if he were bringing the ball in to land at Prestwick airport.
揃eauty?said caddie Steve Williams. 揟hanks,?said Tiger in full agreement. It really was some shot. Woods probably didn抰 even hear the Strathclyde Passenger Service whistling past or train as it is known outside of Glasgow bureaucracy.
And yet Woods can抰 quite bring himself to trust himself. 揥here would you go, that抯 the thing. You can hit driver every hole, but where are you going to hit it??Admittedly it wouldn抰 be the greatest club selection at the Postage Stamp, but if he carries on like this he will soon be known as Tiger Irons.
He is leaving himself a long way back compared to some other players and that is putting pressure on his approach play which in turn is putting pressure on his putter. He hasn抰 always been at his best on links greens ?the putter cost him an Open at Birkdale ?and he has missed a few short ones this week.
He can still win this Championship, but he might just have to attack a little more and he will have to hole the tiger抯 share of his birdie opportunities. Yesterday he was on his way to matching the 64 he scored in the third round in 1997, but as soon as he came to the longer holes he didn抰 have enough game.
If he doesn抰 win today then he might well be worth a few bob when the PGA Championship comes around, particularly if he is still at 8-1 with the bookies. The amusingly absurd website TigerWoodsisGod.com won抰 be announcing his resurrection just yet, but there are just a few more signs of life.

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