Tiger Woods: What to Watch for at the Frys.com Open

After nearly two months away from the game, Tiger Woods will return to the PGA Tour this week for the Frys.com Open.

Woods’ last appearance came at the PGA Championship where he missed the cut while managing to find 23 bunkers and five lakes over the course of two rounds.  

If there is such a thing as a rock bottom, Woods may have finally found it at the Atlanta Athletic Club back in August.

Woods has now had seven weeks to get healthy and work on his game, and things seem to be heading in the right direction.

Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte first reported that Woods carded a 62 at The Medalist Club last Friday, which broke the course record by two strokes (previous course record of 64 was held by Greg Norman).  

“I hadn't posted a low round in a long time,” Woods said yesterday afternoon in San Martin, California when asked about his round of 62 at The Medalist Club.

“So that's something that it felt good to do, and to be honest with you, it was pretty easy and I left a few out there.”

No one quite knows which Woods will show up this week for the Frys.com Open, but here are five things to be on the lookout for as Woods embarks on his latest “comeback.”  

How Fluid Is His Golf Swing?

It’s no secret that Woods’ effortless yet incredibly powerful golf swing has evolved into a mechanical looking shell of itself over the past decade.

Early in his career, Woods’ fundamentally perfect swing allowed him to simply go out and play golf.  But, for the past five years Woods has been playing golf swing and not golf.

The fact that he has still won major championships and scores of other tournaments around the world despite his golf swing is just a testament to how incredibly talented Woods really is.

That being said, as Woods begins to age it is going to become more difficult for him to win while worrying more about swing mechanics than actual golf shots.

If you see Woods rehearsing swing mechanics before every shot he hits this week, it will indicate that he’s still not in the right place in terms of his golf swing.  

However, if you see Woods repeating fluid golf swings all week, well then, he could finally be on his way back.

How Sharp Is He with the Feel Shots?

At the Atlanta Athletic Club, Woods was sending 125 yard pitching wedge shots 15 yards over the green.

No matter how many golf balls one may hit on the driving range, it’s the feel shots—150 yards and in—that can only be masters through playing a lot of golf.

All golfers know how far they hit their pitching wedge, nine iron, eight iron, etc. 

But what about when you’re 145 yards out and right in between a hard wedge or a soft nine—that is a feel shot, and the type of shot Woods has been unable to get a handle on this season.  

If Woods begins sticking his short iron approach shots this week, his first victory in nearly two years may not be far off.

Does He Get off to a Fast Start?

Woods carded a 62 on Friday at the Medalist Club and claims that he has been playing 36 and 45 holes a day for the past month.

All of this hard work seems to have given Woods a new-found level of confidence heading into this week’s Frys.com Open.

If he opens with a round of 66, he could be off and running on his comeback trail.

If he opens with a round of 74, it will be back to the drawing board for El Tigre.

Does He Really Want to Be There?

For the past two years, Woods has looked as if he’d rather be anywhere other than on the golf course.

Whether he was at Augusta National—a course he loves—or TPC Sawgrass—a course he, well, doesn’t love—his emotions appeared to be a mixture of discontent and utter disinterest.

If Woods appears focused and enthusiastic out on the golf course this week, it will be a big step towards a return to his winning ways.  

If he looks as if he’d rather be standing on front of  20,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters with his bank statement and a sign that reads “I pay less taxes than you do”, it will indicate that Woods’ mental game still has a long way to go.   

The ShortGame and Putter

If you’ve watched Tiger Woods play golf throughout his career, you will know that he has never been a very accurate driver of the ball. 

The guy has won numerous major championships looking more like Walter Hagen than Jack Nicklaus.

Where Woods was able to separate himself from the pack was through his short-game and putting. 

Woods used his Houdini-like skills on and around the greens to consistently turn 74s into 70s and 68s into 64s.

However, for the past two years, Woods’ poor play on and around the greens has translated into those 74s remaining 74 and those 68s remaining 68s.

So far in 2011, Woods ranks 160th in the PGA Tour’s new strokes gained putting stat and 124th in Scrambling.  In 2008 and 2009, Woods didn’t rank outside of the top-three in strokes gained putting and ranked first in scrambling each year.  

Forget about the golf swing, Sean Foley, Woods’ “lost aura”, etc.  If Woods is unable to scramble and sink those must make putts like the way he used to, he will never be the same player again. 

It’s as simple as that.

For more golf news, insight and analysis, check out The Tour Report.