SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The waiting continues.
Every time Tiger Woods turns up at a tournament, there is an anticipation he suddenly will become, well, Tiger Woods again.
For more than a year, the guy who has amassed 79 career wins, including 14 major championships, has been nowhere to be found.
It was again the case in Thursday's opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC of Scottsdale, where Woods carded a sloppy 2-over-par 73 — which, quite frankly, looked a lot like five hours of survival.
Woods is nine shots behind leader Ryan Palmer, who shot 7-under.
Credit to Woods for not allowing the round to bleed out to an 83 instead of a 73, because it looked that bad in person.
Woods, with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 2 and a double on No. 4, was 4-over par through the first four holes of his 2015 season. He made the turn in 5-over.
Most alarming was the fact he wasn't really doing anything well — particularly chipping, which had been so atrocious the last time he played, at his own Hero World Challenge event in December.
But at least in December at Isleworth in Windermere, Fla., Woods' long game showed some significant progress and promise under the direction of his new swing "consultant" Chris Como.
So, even when Woods finished that event tied for last in the 18-player field, 26 shots behind winner Jordan Spieth, his mantra was all about "syncing up'' his chipping swing with his new swing. He made it sound like the short game merely needed a touch-up.
It looked nearly as bad Thursday as it did in December, lowlighted by several skulled chips, including one on No. 9, where he bladed one from the front of the green over the back of it.
Aside from the 15-handicap short game he showed, Woods was all over the yard off the tee, and his distance control with his irons was off as well, with a number of approach shots coming up short of the green. He hit just 5-of-14 fairways and 10-of-18 greens.
Tiger Woods shot a 2-over-par 73 in Thursday's first round.Photo: Getty Images
Meanwhile, as Woods fought like crazy to avoid shooting 80, there were more than 60 players who broke par.
"I was 5-over par and I fought back to get myself a decent look going into the weekend,'' Woods said. "I'm proud of that because that takes a lot of mental energy to be able to fight back like that.''
You have to wonder if there are times when Woods wonders where the guy went who won those 79 tournaments and 14 majors, because the rest of us continue to wonder.
Woods is not a myth, because he actually did accomplish all of those incredible feats, shattering records. He even won five tournaments as recently as 2013, though he is without a major since 2008.
But until further notice, Woods is a ghost of his former self. And we keep hearing the same things from him, like a broken record.
"I've been through it before,'' Woods said. "It's not the first time I've gone through [a swing change], so it takes time. I need to get rounds under my belt, get a feel for it. Eventually, I'll start trusting it, start getting my numbers, start shaping shots [to] where you just go play, not worry about a whole lot.
"This is my second tournament in six months, so I just need tournament rounds like this where I can fight through it, turn it around, grind through it and make adjustments on the fly.''
There are legitimate reasons for Woods' recent struggles. His 2014 season was wrecked by a back injury that limited him to just seven tournaments, two of which he withdrew from. But the last time he completed a tournament under par was the 2013 BMW Classic.
That sounds almost unbelievable.
There was a time when the other golfers in the tournament fields Woods played in wondered if he was playing the same golf course they were, because his dominance was that pronounced, that dramatic.
Now Woods must be wondering if he is playing the same golf course as the rest of the field, because he always seems to be playing from behind, playing catch-up.
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