AUGUSTA, Ga. — After finishing fourth at the Masters, Tiger Woods was unsure about his next move.
“I’m going to take a little time and kind of re-evaluate things,” he said Sunday after finishing five shots back of Masters champ Phil Mickelson.
Despite a five-month hiatus following the revelations of his marital infidelities, his evaluation likely will be less about his play than his perception.
Woods’ every move from clubhouse to scoring tent was watched closely and analyzed completely. He always has played with an emotional edge that frequently runs hot, but Woods pledged last week to be more controlled — both positively and negatively.
He was more restrained, but he still tossed clubs and cuss words around after a couple of untimely misplayed shots.
“I think people are making way too much of a big deal of this thing,” Woods said. “I was not feeling good. I hit a big snipe off the first hole, and I don’t know how people can think I should be happy about that. I hit a wedge from 45 yards and basically bladed it over the green. These are not things I normally do. So I’m not going to be smiling and not going to be happy.”
That’s a fair point, of course, especially for a renowned perfectionist such as Woods.
“Other than my backswing’s been going bad, my downswing’s going,” Woods said sarcastically Sunday, “it wasn’t too bad.”
His skills may have been a little rusty — his short game was uncharacteristically erratic and he three-putted from less than eight feet Sunday — but his top-five finish was better than most everyone other than the oddsmakers and Woods himself could have reasonably expected.
He spent the entire tournament in the top 10 and matched a tournament record with four eagles. Plus, his 11-under-par 277 was his best 72-hole score at Augusta National since he shot 12 under to win the tournament in 2005.
“I enjoyed playing with Tiger, seeing his mental strength, and the crowd showed great respect,” said K.J. Choi, who played all four rounds with Woods this year. “They were very quiet when we were preparing to make our shots. They were very respectful.”
That’s a credit to Augusta National and the Masters, which is almost a home game for Woods, golf’s top-ranked player.
Since his record-setting victory in 1997, Woods always has figured prominently into Masters discussions. He was always a factor, winning three more green jackets and never finishing worse than a tie for 22nd since ’97, when his winning score of 18 under and overpowering play forced the club to reshape the course.
His next move, though, will be far from the comfortable confines of golf’s most serene and respectful setting. The Masters patrons embraced Woods from the very beginning, starting with a polite but robust welcome in Thursday’s first round and cheers and well-wishes through his weekend ups and downs.
Like always, he garnered the largest galleries. But at his next tournament — whether it’s Quail Hollow at Charlotte or The Players Championship or the Memorial — will not be the safe haven that was Augusta National.
There will be larger crowds that are more public and less concerned about the possibility of losing their badges. At any other event, there almost assuredly will be hecklers on the grounds — not just circling above on banners pulled behind airplanes.
Handling that will be every bit as important as fixing his backswing and downswing if Woods is to take the next step in his comeback successfully.