Tiger Woods Exceeds Expectations In The Bahamas, Matt Fitzpatrick Goes Full Narc, And Why Rory McIlroy Is Mostly Wrong About The Rollback
Scottie Scheffler winning the Hero World Challenge by three shots reminding the world that he is, indeed, the No. 1 player on the planet wasn't the top story to come out of the Bahamas. In fact, it didn't even make the top two storylines from the weekend that was.
That honor belonged to Tiger Woods teeing it up for the first time since withdrawing from the Masters in April. While he finished near the bottom of the leaderboard there is no way anyone can say he didn't exceed expectations this week.
Scottie Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge by three shots, but wasn't the story of the week. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images,)
For the Hero World Challenge to be such a small field, glorified charity event, it sure has a track record of bringing out the drama. This year's came courtesy of Matt Fitzpatrick, the king of note-taking, turning Collin Morikawa in for taking notes of his own.
We also had Rory McIlroy chiming in about the golf ball being rolled back - aka golf becoming even harder for everyone - and delivering a take that simply does not make any sense.
Plenty to catch up on in this week's edition of Par Talk, as per usual.
Tiger Woods Earned A Moral Victory In The Bahamas
There were the stereotypical over-the-top expectations for Tiger Woods heading into the Hero World Challenge this week and then there were the realistic ones. While some may have thought the man could perhaps find his way into contention on Sunday, those living on planet Earth just wanted to see him make it through four rounds of golf on his surgically repaired ankle.
Woods not only checked that box while his already noticeable limp not getting any more noticeable throughout the week, but he also didn't finish dead last.
On the surface that may not seem like an accomplishment. But when we're talking about a 20-player field whose average world ranking was a shade under 18, that's a significant W for the big cat.
Tiger Woods may not have won the Hero World Challenge, but still earned a victory in the Bahamas. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Woods finished the tournament at even par which was good enough to best reigning U.S. Open Champion Wyndham Clark by two shots and Will Zalatoris, who was also making his first start since the Masters, by a smooth 11 strokes.
Outside of his opening round 75, Woods very much looked the part throughout the week. His swing speed is there, his upper body may be as strong as it ever has been, and he was able to knock off a bit of rust over the course of each round.
The soon-to-be 48-year-old finished fourth in the field in strokes gained: off the tee and eight in total driving distance averaging 304.9 yards.
Matt Fitzpatrick Turns Into Accidental (?) Narc
Matt Fitzpatrick jots down a note in his handy-dandy notebook after every single shot he hits on the golf course. He's done so for years, and while it's undoubtedly paid off for the former U.S. Open champion, the irony of him turning in Collin Morikawa and his caddie for writing a note down while on the putting green this week is truly off the charts.
Morikawa was issued a two-shot penalty not long before his final round on Sunday after violating a local rule that was implemented in 2022 during Saturday's third round playing alongside Fitzpatrick.
To make the long and quite ridiculous story short, Morikawa's caddie used a level on the practice green prior to the start of the round and made a note of it in his yardage book. He then, according to Fitzpatrick and rules officials, used that note while reading a putt on the fourth hole during the third round.
If Morikawa's caddie had obtained the information from the level and simply remembered it, he wouldn't have been violating any rules. He could have also obtained information using his feet or eyes, written a note down, and been well within the rules.
It's the fact that he used a level, wrote a note down, and then used that information during the round that broke the local rule.
After the fact, Fitzpatrick explained that he wasn't trying to expose Morikawa when bringing the potential rule violation into question, but instead, he was trying to understand the newly added rule himself after wanting to potentially add AimPoint numbers to his own yardage book earlier in the year.
“It wasn’t until I was back in the house like where I was staying and someone was talking about putting or something like that. I was like, oh, , like I have that question,” Fitzpatrick recalled.
“Listen, it’s nothing personal. Whether it was Tiger or whoever, it’s just I wanted to know because I would have used it earlier this year," he continued.
Fitzpatrick seems like a genuine, incredibly normal person aside from his note-taking addiction so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here. But he also needs to have the self-awareness that if he asks a rules official this sort of thing then the rules official is going to ask him questions in return.
Fitz could have also ignored those questions, but in the long run this will be a lesson for Morikawa and the rest of the PGA Tour to understand the newly added rule.
Morikawa was understandably frustrated having been handed a two-shot penalty, but if there's any tournament for this sort of thing to happen, one that is a guaranteed payday with just 19 other players in the field is an ideal spot.
Rory McIlroy Misses The Mark With His Rollback Assessment, Sort Of
The game of golf is set to become harder for every player at every single level as it is being reported that the USGA and R&A will soon announce that the golf ball will be rolled back, or nerfed to travel shorter distances.
This has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now, with another option on the table that the ball would only be rolled back at the professional and elite amateur level, but no, they're coming for all of our golf balls now.
According to reports, elite professionals will adopt the rolled-back golf ball in 2028 while the rule will affect all levels two years later.
"The effect on distance for recreational players will likely be less, but could be proportional. So that if a tour player loses five percent (or 15 yards on a 300-yard drive), then a recreational player might lose that same five percent on a 225-yard drive (or roughly 11 yards). And the same golfer likely would lose a similar percentage on his or her approach shots," according to Golf Digest.
Rory McIlroy doesn't think the new ball - one that will make golf courses longer for all players - will affect "the average golfer."
He is wrong.
I will raise my hand as "the average golfer" McIlroy is referring to here and say, without hesitation, that if you make my golf ball travel 5% less distance it will absolutely make a difference in my game because the game just got harder.
A golf ball that travels a shorter distance off the tee means I have a longer club in my hand for an approach shot. Longer clubs are harder to hit than shorter clubs - that's a factual statement in the most literal, physics-based standpoint imaginable - so I'm not sure where McIlroy is even getting this idea that it won't impact an average golfer.
As for his note about sustainability, he's absolutely correct. Most golf courses today are too short to keep up with modern technology, so from that viewpoint this move makes sense for the game both recreationally and professionally.
It's the classic case of two things being true at once. Golf will be harder with the ball traveling a shorter distance, but it'll be great for golf courses and their longevity.
Something had to give, eventually, and it sounds as if that big break is coming in 2030.
Follow Mark Harris on X @itismarkharris and email him at mark.harris@outkick.com