LITTLE ROCK — Tiger Woods’ third-place finish halfway around the world is more impressive than his victory in December that ended his winless streak at 26 tournaments and 749 days.
In the Abu Dhabi Championship, Woods tied for third, better than 120-plus players, and only two shots behind champion Robert Rock. Don’t ask for the lowdown on Rock; just know there are hundreds of little-known pros who can win.
A month earlier, in the Chevron World Challenge, Woods beat 17 friends invited to a fundraiser in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for his foundation.
“Winning means everything to him, whether it’s an 18-man field or Augusta National,” said Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie since October. “He knows it’s not 144 guys. He knows it’s not the Masters.”
Understood, but the depth of the field provides perspective to his finish in the United Arab Emirates. The top four players in the world — Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer — were there, along with several others with major titles.
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Of those four, only McIlroy finished ahead of Woods. Rising star Jason Day and Paul Lawrie, who won the following week, were among the 60 who did not make the cut.
Woods’ showing in the United Arab Emirates is a tease for his 2012 debut in the U.S. this week at Pebble Beach. Gone are the litany of excuses — a self-inflicted scandal, lost endorsements, a divorce, swing changes, a new coach and injuries — for his drought.
Difficult to believe, but online reports say he is favored to win this week. He doesn’t have to do that to signal that he will again be a force. Four solid rounds would suffice.
At 36, he will never dominate like he once did. Nobody else will either.
Woods has not played the regular PGA Tour stop at Pebble Beach since 2002. Two years earlier, he won his first U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes. When the Open returned to Pebble Beach two years ago, he tied for fourth.
Announcing his plans last month, Woods mentioned that he has a “lot of good memories” of Pebble Beach.
Normally, he begins the year at Torrey Pines, but nobody can fault his decision to start 2012 at Abu Dhabi where his appearance fee was supposed to be seven figures.
Last time out, Woods turned in a solid series — 70-69-66-72 — encouraging because he was tied for the lead with 18 holes to play, but a bit disconcerting because Rock played alongside him and beat him by two shots.
The Woods of old would have intimidated Rock, who had one previous victory on the European Tour in more than 220 events.
Instead, Woods made things easier for Rock by missing fairways and making bogeys. That final round, Woods said, was his one bad day hitting the ball.
“If I can have that as my bad day, I’m excited about that,” he said this week. He says there is a difference between rehabbing and training and that he can now do the things that swing coach Sean Foley wants him to do.
During the first three rounds, Woods will do fine in a foursome with his amateur partner, Tony Romo, plus pro Arjun Atwal and his partner. The real test will come Sunday when most of the amateurs are on the sideline.
Football is over; even for the simply curious, the golf telecast should be worth watching.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.