Tiger Woods admitted his game has gone “rusty”. We thought he was being humble. But two rounds at the Hero World Challenge proved he was being honest. There were flickers of greatness, though. But mostly it was Woods trying (and struggling) to find his mojo. Now he has revealed the reason behind being rusty. 

Moreover, if the former World No.1 goes on the hunt, his eyes are fixed on the ‘trophy’.Even though his body has failed him before. But now it’s his mind that betrays him. A thick layer of mold has settled on the solid walls of the mental fortress despite practicing on simulators. It’s interfering with the stellar tactician within Woods. Why? How? The veteran golfer explains.

Game speed is different than home speed – big-time 

Tiger Woods appeared in a flash interview after the second round. While Woods has never shied away from speaking about what went wrong on the course, it was always about his swings, a wayward drive, an approach that he might have taken differently. Not this time.

Seven months have passed since the American Pro limped out of Augusta, and his mind can’t catch up with the pace of a live game yet. The game on the course just hits differently than it does on simulators at home. Here, a recalcitrant tee shot “costs you.” 

As Woods’ game during the first round showed, it can also start a series of unfortunate bogeys and double bogeys. The 82-time PGA Tour winner admitted he “played a lot of money matches at home,” but, “game speed is different than home speed.” How is it different? Woods put the significance of a live match on words like this, “The mind (is) racing more. The anxiety, the emotions are just different than at home.”

Sounds like his paeans to the game of golf? Sure, it is what he has enjoyed the most, chasing the players before hunting them down and people tipping their hat off to the “stupefying, unexplainable brilliance.” But that is precisely what was missing at the Albany Golf Club.

How has Tiger Woods performed in the first two rounds?

Tiger Woods started off with a lot of gusto in the opening round. But a slew of poor decision-making cost him dearly as he finished on the 18th position in the 20-man leaderboard. However, there were some positive signs in the first round. 177 MPH ball speed against the Tour average of 167 MPH and a 326-yard opening tee shot, against the average of 299.9 yards are not too bad for a 47-year-old golfer who is playing for the first time in seven months.

Read More: Tiger Woods and His 3 Major Changes Since His Return to Golf After 7-Month Break

Moreover, at the closing of the second round, he moved four places up. It could have been better, if not the veteran golfer ran out of gas. A stellar four birdies in the front nine gave way to disappointing three bogeys in the back nine. The Hall of Famer once again fumbled at the par-5 15th hole, but this time cupping the ball in his 6th attempt. Tiger Woods is set to tee off with the defending champion, Viktor Hovland, on the moving day and he has two more days to prove.

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