BETHESDA, Md. — The mantra has become as much a part of Tiger Woods’ world as the red shirts he wears on Sundays and stone-faced stares he bestows upon reporters who ask him questions he’s not crazy about answering.
Ask Woods before a tournament what his expectations are for that particular week and he will tell you — with more than a trace of indignity in his voice — that he never enters a tournament he does not expect to win.
Tough words, always, from a player who’s spent the better part of the last 17 years backing them up.
It has never been a good idea to bet against Woods, who has 79 career wins, including 14 major championships.
But the reality to this week’s Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club, which will be Woods’ first tournament since March back surgery, is this: Trademark tough talk aside, any expectations by Woods of winning are unrealistic expectations.
Keeping in mind Woods would not be playing unless he was medically cleared to do so, these are the primary reasons he is playing this week:
- He wants to throw a bone to Quicken Loans, which is in its first year as the title sponsor to the tournament Woods hosts and which benefits his foundation.
- He wants to build confidence in his health and his game with the British Open two weeks away in Liverpool.
Winning the tournament — which he has done two of the three times he has played it at Congressional — would be nothing more than a bonus to Woods.
“Expectations don’t change. [Winning is] the ultimate goal,’’ Woods said Tuesday. “It’s just that it’s going to be a little bit harder this time. I just haven’t had the amount of prep and reps that I would like, but I’m good enough to play, and I’m going to give it a go.’’
The $64,000 question as Woods tees it up at 8:12 a.m. Thursday alongside Jordan Spieth and Jason Day on the 10th hole for their opening round, is just how good can he be after not having played a competitive round of tournament golf since he closed out his final-round 78 at Doral on March 9?
“Tiger always talks about being here to win and I’m sure that is the case, but I’m sure there could be an element of looking a week or two ahead for the Open Championship,’’ Justin Rose said. “No matter who, I think there’s an element of getting the rust off and if I was Tiger Woods I would probably be looking at the Open Championship and the decision to play here is because he doesn’t want to be rusty at the Open Championship.
“I always feel like there’s a slight lag effect [from an extended layoff],’’ Rose went on. “You can have your game on the range, but it might take a week or two weeks or having a scorecard in your hand for five or six rounds.’’
If Wednesday’s pro-am practice round was any indication about how the week might go for Woods, it figures to be a roller coaster ride for him, with moments of brilliance that remind us of who he was coupled with some clunker moments that remind us he is 87 days removed from back surgery and hasn’t played a competitive round in 108 days.
With the caveat being that this was merely a pro-am, which for the PGA Tour players can be a tedious five-plus hour slog waiting to hit shots while the amateurs in the group are scraping it around, Woods was not sharp on Wednesday. But he was not awful, either.
And most importantly, he looked healthy, showing no ill effects of the surgery — even while hitting shots out of the healthy rough at Congressional as his swing coach Sean Foley looked on.
Unofficially, Woods hit 6-of-14 fairways and 11-of-18 greens. He hit his first tee shot of the morning into a water hazard on the 10th hole, a 218-yard par-3. He struggled at times with his driver, with misses to the right, and bombed one out of bounds on 18, his ninth hole of the round. But Woods hit his best drive of the day on the ninth, his last of the round, and generally played better as the round progressed.
Afterward, Woods called himself “a little bit rusty,’’ but added, “Generally it feels good. I hit some loose shots, but I also hit some really good ones. [The] back feels great, which is a really good sign.’’
At the end of the day — and the tournament — that’s really the most important thing that matters for Woods.
At age 38 and as accomplished as he is with all those wins and all those majors, this week is about baby steps leading to Liverpool.