Biggest Takeaways for Tiger Woods After His First Event of 2015

Tiger Woods didn’t just miss the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he flubbed it.

But, at the very least, Woods appeared to have a sense of humor about his struggles during his post-round press conference.

“I’m only here so I don’t get fined,” he mused on the Golf Channel broadcast, echoing the actual sentiment of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.

The round? It wasn’t good. Woods’ 11-over performance Friday was the worst round he has played as a pro. 

As Woods boards Air Tiger and heads to the practice green, it gives us some time to examine his 155 shots at TPC Scottsdale and posit a few takeaways. 

Tiger Woods Is Healthy

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The silver lining? It appears Woods is finally healthy.

There were always going to be questions about his health, especially following last year's back surgery. He’s been suffering from one form of injury or another for the better part of the past four years.

If his errant game was good for anything the past two days, it’s that he has been exposing his body to uneven surfaces due to his difficult lies. He was making good recovery shots when needed, proving his body can take the physical grind. With health no longer a front-of-the-mind concern, he can focus on making golf shots.

"Physically, I'm fine," Woods said, via ESPN.com's Bob Harig. "I feel great. Mentally, I'm a little bit tired from the grind of trying to piece together a round."

His Short Game Is Shot

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Woods' name has always synonymous with a great short game. The magic he conjured around the green throughout his career was always one of his strengths.

The short game we saw from Woods this week needs some serious work.

“I was caught in between patterns, new pattern old pattern,” Woods said in his post-round presser Friday. “I was more committed to doing it on my back nine. Still got a lot of work to do.”

So, what exactly is the challenge he's facing with those lofted irons?

“It’s the pattern,” Woods said during the television broadcast. “I was much steeper, overall swing-wise, my swing was much steeper with Sean [Foley] now I’m more shallow. I’m not bottoming out in the same spot.”

Woods will need to eliminate some of the poor misses around the green if we wants to be in contention at next week's Farmer's Insurance Open.

The Perspective Is There

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Tiger appears to be keeping things in perspective, realizing he has a long road back to get his game where it needs to be.

The plan all along was to play Torrey Pines next week, a course where he has won eight times in his career, including his last major. Unfortunately for Woods, his two rounds in Phoenix won't serve as much of a spring-board.

"I've got to keep things in perspective, sometimes it's difficult to do that," Woods said, via Kyle Porter of CBSSports.com. "I've got to continue with the process. I've been here before. It wasn't too long ago that I changed my swing with Sean (Foley)."

Woods is living out his golf rehab on the course in front of the world.

With this grounded perspective, especially during these early tournaments, it should only help him get his feet back under him.

Mentally, He Isn't Right

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ESPN golf analyst Dottie Pepper was asked about Woods’ round, and she noted that Woods appears to be fine physically; it’s what’s playing between the ears that is the concern. Appearing on SportsCenter, Pepper said:

"

There’s a mental hurdle he has to get earlier. It’s not as much about ball striking as it is about short game. The upside of this is that he’s going home to practice. The bigger upside is that he’s committed to playing next week in San Diego. Just keep playing through this.

"

And that’s where the mental side of his game will begin to slowly manifest itself.

“It’s golf, we all have days like this,” he said, via Porter. “Unfortunately mine was in a public forum.”

Woods Needs to Phone a Friend

Willie J. Allen/Associated Press

Reading some tweets about Woods’ round, namely the sardonic ramblings of GC Tiger Tracker on Twitter, you come away thinking that he’s really striping the ball. The distance is there so you know the torque and club-head speed is elite.

A takeaway is that his ball-striking is sound. But, as previously stated, the short game is deflated. What Woods needs to do is pick up his phone and call Steve Stricker.

Both Pepper and Golf Channel’s Frank Nobilo brought up Stricker, who had some of the worst yips off the tee earlier in his career.

“Steve Stricker had to go back to his long time coach,” Nobilo said during the Golf Channel broadcast. “He went back to the building blocks and just pieced it together. Tiger Woods might have lost a tooth in Italy. He’s got that back. He lost his game in Phoenix. It’s going to take a little while.”

Pepper was less snarky about it, saying during a SportsCenter interview, “He’s got a great resource and his name is Steve Stricker. Stricker went through something similar. He had the yips with the driver. I think it would be wise to reach out to him. ‘What did you do? How did you get through it?’”