Woods finishes tour return with a whimper

He even loved some of his golf at Albany.

Wearing his trademark Sunday red shirt and black trousers, Woods began the final round with four pars, leaving a 20-foot birdie putt on the edge of the cup at the first hole then punching out of rough with the tip of his putter at two and sinking a three-foot putt.

When asked about Matsuyama, Woods was all praise.

Get used to seeing it again.

Woods has to be wary of back issues. The American had quite a few positives from the tournament and his back seemed to have held up well after undergoing two surgeries.

The victory for Matsuyama, meanwhile, was his fourth in his last five starts. The club twirls were back. ‘We’re going to be smart about it heading to the Masters, ‘ he said. His haunting chipping woes are gone.

It was a roller-coaster ride of a tournament for Woods, who made more birdies than anyone in the field. but also carded eight bogeys and six double-bogeys, including three on Sunday.

Woods said getting back to where he is “has tested me beyond anything I have experienced in my life”. He won the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan two weeks later, again by seven shots.

“I am still testing, I’m still trying to figure things out”, Woods said.

“I just need to balance it out”.

“This golf course allows one to be aggressive, but also I made some bad mistakes”.

“So it was nice to hit some balls out there with some aggression again and not have to worry about anything”.

“I’m not the greatest golfer from Japan”, he said. You laugh but that’s good.

“These are all things I’ve missed for a year and a half”. His tee shot landed in a thick palmetto bush, and he had to take a penalty drop to take it out.

The returns on Woods’ week – from him, his caddie, Joe LaCava, and the other players in the field – were universally positive. “Honestly, my goal was to get him through five rounds on his feet”.

With a mix of TaylorMade and Nike equipment in his bag, Woods is now focused on making his new gear work for his game.

“I think he’s certainly exceeded expectations – though it’s hard to say he’s exceeded any expectations, because it’s Tiger, ” Jordan Spieth said. “For three straight days, I’ve gotten off to great starts”. His swing looked comfortable.

“A year”, he said.

“That’s exactly what he did at HSBC Champions, and it was not much to do at that time”, Stenson said.

South Africa’s Richard Sterne (67) was second.

The 24-year-old Japanese, seven strokes ahead overnight in the elite 18-man event, birdied two of the first nine holes, then shrugged off a double at the 10th and a bogey at the 14th as he posted an 18-under total of 270 in blustery conditions. A year ago, Watson had a two-shot lead.

Varner was two clear of Andrew Dodt and four clear of former No. 1-ranked Adam Scott.