Tiger Woods gets real on Hero World Challenge struggles after another rough back 9

Woods scored better Friday at the Hero World Challenge but is still rusty as he gets back into the swing of professional golf.

The golf world watched as Tiger Woods improved on Friday at the Hero World Challenge.

While it was far from perfect, he fired off a 2-under 70, five shots better than his 75 from Thursday.

After such a tough first round, it was anyone’s guess as to what Woods would do on the course.

“It was better than yesterday, for sure. I’ve been more committed than I was yesterday. I made a few mistakes and overall the round was better, for sure,” Woods said. “The start was better. The middle part of the round was better. I missed a couple putts there towards the end I thought would have kept the round going and unfortunately it stalled out a little bit.”

He started the day strong with four birdies on the front nine, but much like his first round, the back nine gave him trouble. Woods made bogey on three of the last six holes but also tallied his fifth birdie on the 17th to finish with some momentum.

Following his round, Woods detailed both the mental and physical limitations he still struggles with.

“I think it’s all of the above [mental and physical], and I just haven’t done it. I haven’t played in six months,” he said. “Things are not as sharp as they normally would be... There’s some good in there, and just got to make sure that the good is more consistent than it has been.”

Woods hasn’t played a competitive round of golf since April at the Masters. He has referred to his game as rusty a number of times this week.

“It’s different,” Woods said. “Like I was saying yesterday, game speed’s different than home speed. You can simulate all you want at home, and I had it the best I possibly can. We played a lot of money matches at home and tried to simulate it, but it’s just different. The mind’s racing more, the anxiety, the emotions are just different than at home.”

The 82-time PGA Tour winner is walking better, but that doesn’t mean everything is where he wants it to be.

“You can always drop a ball at home, no big deal,” he said. “Here it’s going to cost you. Putting pen and paper together, it’s just a little bit different.”

When it comes to Woods, the expectations are always at an all-time high. People want him to compete and contend. The five-time Masters winner wouldn’t enter a competition if he didn’t feel like a win was possible.

“This week is a great beta test to figure out what I can do, the plan is going forward, what we’re going to do in the gym, what I need to do, and just overall analyze what it’s like to compete and play,” Woods said. “The things I need to strengthen and the things I need to work on in the gym to be ready for next year and the next season.”

The good thing is that he is playing a PGA Tour event and continues to insist that his ankle is pain-free.

With two rounds left, Woods will get a good idea of where things are with him ahead of the 2024 PGA Tour season, particularly with his stamina playing 72 holes. So far, he looks better than what fans saw in April, which is encouraging.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.