AUGUSTA: Fortunes change fast in golf. No better week to exemplify that than this one at the Augusta National Golf Club at the 86th Masters. The three subplots within the larger plot that usually unfolds on the back nine on Sunday were all unlikely as recently as two months ago.
Tiger Woods. Scottie Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama. Woods is T-19, Matsuyama is T-2 and Scheffler leads the field by five. On Friday, as the Masters reached midway point in its first normal rendition since 2019 with crowds in full attendance and no Covid overhangs, Woods made the cut. Big deal. He has never missed one in his 22 appearances as a pro.
But this one is an amazing testimony to his mental strength considering the single-car accident in February 2021 had included a discussion on a possible amputation.
On Friday, he smiled and complimented his 'team'. Woods said, "It worked out great. I was hoping I didn't have any setbacks along the way where I couldn't go. Everything has been good, has been tough. My team has done a hell of a job getting me ready, getting the body - after I go ahead and break it out there, they go ahead and repair it at night. Break it, fix it. I'm good at breaking it. They're good at fixing it."
Woods began the day with four bogeys in first five holes and stared at his first ever early exit as a pro. He salvaged the wreckage with four birdies between eighth and 14th and despite back-to-back setbacks on 11th and 12th, he made the cut at 1-over despite missing birdies on 15 and 16. Two months before his incredible run, Scheffler's brush with headlines came at the Ryder Cup 2021, when he secured 2.5 points in three matches.
PGA Tour wins? None. Till February 13, 2022 Scheffler had never hoisted a PGA Trophy. Now he has three and is World No. 1. All in 42 days. Green Jacket beckons. He was knocking on the door toward the end of 2021 - 4th in Mexico, 2nd at Houston Open and 2nd at Wood's own Hero World Challenge. The door suddenly opened on February 13, 2022 in Phoenix; was followed by T-7 at Genesis and a win again at Palmer Invitational.
A disappointing PLAYERS followed but another trophy awaited at the WGC Dell Matchplay. Now rested after boardgames with his family and friends, he shot a steady 69 on Day One with one bogey on 18th. On the second day he opened with a bogey, made up on the next and gave it back on the third. Then he didn't put a foot wrong. Three sets of back-to-back birdies on 7-8, 12-13 and 15-16 and he was miles ahead - five shots of a starry foursome including Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters), Shane Lowry (2019 Open) and Hideki Matsuyama and Korea's Sungjae Im.
