Written by Christine Brennan at USAToday.com
There is only one issue in golf that truly interests the vast majority of Americans who don’t play the game and won’t watch it unless one certain player appears on their television screen on Sunday afternoon.
Will Tiger Woods ever return as any semblance of his former self, and if so, when?
For months now, there has been no definitive answer to that question, and for a while Monday at the Quicken Loans National media event, it appeared that another day would go by without any real sign, one way or the other, about when, if ever, we’ll see Woods back on the PGA Tour as a truly competitive presence.
Then, Woods stepped to the tee at the par-3 10th hole at Congressional Country Club. It wasn’t the real tee, the 218-yard stretch over water that was used for the 2011 U.S. Open. This was much shorter, just 102 yards over the pond to the green, designed for an easy swing with a wedge so Tiger could hit a couple of shots close to the hole for the cameras to help promote the upcoming tournament that benefits his foundation.
That was the plan.
No one who was in attendance will ever forget what happened next.
In a span of 50 seconds, Tiger hit three balls. As soon as the first flew into the air, Tiger, who was wearing a mic, spoke up. “That’s in the water,” and sure enough, it fell into the pond with a splash, stunningly well short of land.
“Did you like that one?” Woods said to the crowd. “Can I have another one? Boy was that stiff. Holy cow.”
Word was Tiger had flown in earlier on this cool morning and hadn’t practiced, and there was no doubt he was walking and moving gingerly, but still: A measly 102 yards with a wedge in his hands? One would think Tiger could roll out of bed and hit that green 100 times out of 100.
Onto his second shot. This one flew a little farther before it hit by the water’s edge at the bank in front of the green, then disappeared.
“All right, that’s good for me,” Tiger said. Organizers, though, were ready for one more try, as another ball was tossed his way. “One more? Ah, come on.
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