Defending champion at the Hero World Challenge and world number one Jordan Spieth is certain that tournament host Tiger Woods is far from done with active golf.
Defending champion at the Hero World Challenge and world number one Jordan Spieth is certain that tournament host Tiger Woods is far from done with active golf. Speaking a day after Woods admitted he had no idea when a comeback would be possible, the 22 year-old Texan, who teed off alongside Bengaluru boy Anirban Lahiri here on Day One, said he was pretty sure that the 14-time Major winner would be back.
“I think we certainly haven’t seen the end of him even if he does say that if the sun sets on the career now, it’s still good. I think we can all read between the lines there, that he’s — I think he’s still got some really good years left out of him.
“There’s nobody who had more influence on my golf game than Tiger. You know, it’s tough, it’s tough to see. You just hope he gets healthy. I think now, and I know maybe we’ve said it a few different times, but I think he really has his head around making sure that he takes his time getting back because he’s still got a lot of good years ahead of him in my mind as long as he approaches it the right way.
“I don’t know his position or the injuries he’s experiencing. I’m not educated on that subject. But just seemed like each time just so wanted to be back and back to his level so quickly that it kind of maybe led to another one and I think now he’s really sitting back and saying you know what, if it does take that long, I’ve got — kind of got it figured out is what it seems to me.”
Spieth, who spreadeagled the pack at Isleworth in Orlando last year to win with a 26-under par total and kick off a spectacular 2015, said the way Woods played at his peak had been a big inspiration in his early years. “Just the dominance, the way that he was able to bring it in the Majors. Really he brought it in every tournament.
“Kind of the way that he was able to kind of get into contention and be in contention and be at that highest kind of mental part of the game week in and week out and Major in and Major out. You know, he did — what we were able to do kind of this season he did for 15 years straight. It took a lot out of us this year, and to imagine doing that, it’s really special.”
The Hero World Challenge win in Orlando sparked Spieth to a dazzling year and he dominated the US Open as he had done at Isleworth, winning the Masters with score that equalled Tiger Woods’ record, and the lanky Texan agreed that it had been a special journey.
“Those two wins (World Challenge and the Masters) were really big because I learned how to close mentally to get into the lead and then on Sunday actually bring what I felt like was my best stuff of the week. I hit the ball the best I’ve ever hit it at this event last year, even better than Augusta this year, so on and so forth. I was hitting the ball on a string last year at Isleworth.”
Speaking on the Albany course, hosting the Hero World Challenge for the first time on its move away from US shores, Spieth said he expected low scores. “It’s different than I thought. I thought there would be ocean views, we’re on an island. It plays — Bubba will like it, there’s nothing blocking the tee shots. It’s very exposed to the wind. You’ve got to keep it in between the sand areas because once you get into those it’s very spotty, you either get a good break or a bad break.
“So if you can control the wind nicely off the tee you’ll be able to hit into these small greens with less club and that’s key, I think, is going to be greens in regulation. They’re very grainy, difficult to read the amount of break that’s in them and they’re kind of sneaky. The way it played the last two days, I would look for scores to be pretty low this week even if the breeze kicks up, but you just never know on Bermuda (grass).”
