Tiger Woods' first round at the Masters was a huge step in the right direction
Two months ago, Tiger Woods was a mess on the golf course.
He had to withdraw from a tournament because his "glutes [were] shutting off" causing his back to tighten up and many, including his ex-coach, thought Tiger had the yips.
Things were so bad that one analyst said it was "unimaginable" for Woods to have fixed his "catastrophically bad" short game in just eight weeks.
Then Tiger showed up to Augusta looking relaxed in a way the golf world has never seen, he played round one of the Masters, and Tiger looked, well, fixed.
His short game looked so good, Woods went as far as to call it his "strength again."
He was hitting shots most players wouldn't even dream of attempting.
And he was getting mad at himself when he hit bad shots.
In other words, he looked like the Tiger Woods of old.
There were bad shots and Woods ended up 1-over, nine shots behind the leaders. He struggled off the tee. He hit the a ball into the water. And at times he hits shots even you and I would be embarrassed to hit.
But Tiger wasn't bad, his game wasn't broken, and he certainly didn't have the yips.
Tiger just looked rusty.
Woods has some work to do to make the cut at the Masters and he certainly isn't ready to contend. But for those who miss the old Tiger, round one was a step in the right direction.