BETHESDA — Had Tiger Woods been standing on the 12th tee at Oakmont during the U.S. Open last Sunday, like champion Dustin Johnson was when a USGA official told him he might be penalized after the round for an infraction he never committed seven holes earlier, Woods would have been incredulous.
“How would I handle it? You know, I’m a little bit feistier than Dustin so I think I probably would have said a few more things during the round,” Woods said with a laugh.
Johnson won the U.S. Open — his first major victory — despite all the chaos and confusion. When he addressed a putt on the fifth hole, Johnson backed away from his ball after it moved. Johnson consulted with a USGA rules official and it was decided he would not be assessed a one-stroke penalty. Then, on the 12th tee, Johnson was alerted the sequence was going to be reviewed more closely following the round.
At the conclusion of the round, Johnson was in fact penalized one stroke, but it hardly mattered as he won the event by three strokes. Premier golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler slammed USGA officials and the way they handled the situation on Twitter.
Woods, who was watching the tournament, was just as outraged.
“It was awful because no one knew what was going on,” Woods said on Wednesday at Congressional Country Club ahead of the start of the Quicken Loans National.
“DJ didn’t know how he stood. The rest of the guys who were ahead of him didn’t understand what was going on. The final group didn’t know what was going on. No one had a clue. Am I tied for the lead, am I leading the tournament, am I one back or am I tied? No one understood where they stood in the tournament so that determines what you’re going to do…so much depends on scenarios and where you stand to dictate how you play. It was frustrating to watch how it was handled because I think that championship being our national title and the history behind it, it deserved a better handling of the situation.”
The U.S. Open was the latest event Woods has had to watch. He hasn’t played in an event since last August because of a back injury. Though Woods feels like he is progressing, there is still no timetable for his return.
What pained him even more is being unable to compete in the Quicken Loans National — formerly knows as the At&T National — a tournament he has hosted since 2007 and won in 2009 and 2012.
“It’s not fun, it’s tough,” Woods said. “This tournament is near and dear to my heart, and all of our staff and all the people that we’ve been able to help over the years. You know, it’s tough not playing my own event. I’ve done it in the past unfortunately and it never feels good. It feels like I should be out there, I should be competing, I should be giving it everything I have and it doesn’t feel good when I can’t do that. Sit on the sidelines and watch. I want to be out there. I feel like I should be able to compete against these guys. I miss playing against these guys.”
The 40-year-old Woods, who has not won a major since 2008, said he’s been able to play a full 18 holes and play consecutive days. The challenge is managing the soreness the day after a round, which has prohibited him from playing a full four-day tournament.
It has also impacted his training. Known for his aggressive workout regimen, Woods used to follow his rounds with an hour of work at the driving range, something he hasn’t been able to do.
“Yeah, you know, I’ve gotten better,” Woods said. “I’ve been able to hit shots. My numbers are good off the tee and that’s one of the things I was going to worry about, I was going to lose distance and I haven’t done that, I’ve actually gained a little bit, which is nice, so that’s a positive.
“Now, I just need to get to where strength-wise that I can handle the workload of playing out here on a weekly basis, working practicing after rounds, not having to go ice my back and all that kind of stuff. I need to get to where I can play 18 holes out here and go to the range for an hour and work on my game. That’s what I used to do, that’s one of the reasons why I think I’ve had some success, I was able to work on it during the week. Just not quite there.”
Once Woods does feel like his body can handle the physical toll of playing, the next step is to sharpen his mental approach and get back to a point where he can handle the competitive nature of a tournament. After all, that competitiveness and camaraderie is what Woods misses most. Until then, he’ll be relegated to watching, just like the other spectators at Congressional this weekend.
“I might get an inside-the-ropes pass,” Woods joked.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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