NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods took a mixed-bag approach to compiling the equipment he used for his first start in nearly 16 months, and after four rounds at the Hero World Challenge he insists there’s still more work to be done.
Woods showed up at Albany Golf Club with a hodgepodge collection: TaylorMade woods, Nike irons and wedges, a Scotty Cameron putter and a Bridgestone ball. Woods is free to tinker and test equipment options without making a long-term commitment following Nike’s exit from the hard-goods space, and after closing with a 4-over 76, Woods indicated that’s just what he plans to do.
“I am still testing, I’m still trying to figure things out,” Woods said. “I’m still in that process of -- I just settled in on a couple things this week. For instance, the 3-wood I found, I found it in the back of a shed here early in the week. It’s still new to me here, OK, so let’s just take a little time.”
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Woods finished 15th in the 17-man field with rounds of 73-65-70-76, but his 24 birdies led the field for the week alongside Hideki Matsuyama, who won by two shots.
Woods explained that he is nearly 10 pounds below his ideal weight of 185 pounds after a recent illness, and he plans to use the coming weeks to bulk up and get back to finding some equipment solutions.
“I’m going to take two weeks off here, get my weight back up, get everything organized, then start the process of testing, training and getting a feel of what is best for me,” he said. “It was nice to have my speed back, get some shots out there again and hit some balls out there with some aggression again, and not have to worry about anything. That part felt good, too.”