Tiger Woods seems set to make an uncommon putter switch on Thursday when the PGA Championship starts at TPC Harding Park.
Woods has been rehearsing this week with an alternate variant of the Scotty Cameron Newport II putter he has utilized for a larger part of his vocation, one that permits him to change the weighting; it likewise is longer.
Steve Stricker, who throughout the years has given Woods help with his putting, played a nine-opening practice round with Woods at Harding Park on Wednesday and enjoyed what he saw.
“I asked him about the putter switch,” said Stricker, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain who assisted Woods at the Presidents Cup last year. “It’s basically the same putter with a bit more flexibility. He’s able to change the weights around a little bit, but the length is the difference.”
“He’s got a little more length on there, and that’s just so he can practice a little bit more without back pain. That’s what excites him the most is that he was able to put in a lot of time with this putter, and watching him putt, it looked exactly the same to me. He rolled the ball great.”
Woods showed up at Harding Park on Sunday and played a 18-opening practice round. He played nine holes Monday, rehearsed on the range and putting green on Tuesday and played another nine holes Wednesday. In the wake of playing, he returned to the putting green for more work.
The Scotty Cameron model Woods has utilized for most of his profession has its very own touch amazing status. He originally put it in play before the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic and utilized it for over 11 years. During that stretch, he won 13 significant titles.
In 2010, Woods changed to a Nike brand putter for a period, and when he came back to activity following his fourth back medical procedure in 2018, he utilized two diverse TaylorMade model putters before exchanging back to the Cameron. Woods won the Tour Championship, the Masters and the Zozo Championship with the first Cameron. He has won roughly $94 million in prize cash utilizing that putter.
The Cameron he’s had such a great amount of progress with has given some mileage. It has various scratches and dings, yet the weighting is on the rear of the cutting edge; the more current form that checking is on the facade of the putter.
Throughout the years, Woods has tried different things with other Cameron putters and had the one he is relied upon to use on Thursday in his sack the previous summer at The Open at Royal Portrush. Be that as it may, he chose not to utilize it during the competition, where he missed the cut.
Woods said following his 40th-place tie at the Memorial Tournament three weeks prior that he didn’t adjust well to having more break in the greens. He was 56th in the field in strokes picked up putting and had a few issues with short putts.
At Harding Park, Woods has invested a decent piece of energy into slack putting, a significant factor at a significant title, where hitting it close is to a greater extent a test.
“I expect good things from him if he can keep his body playable,” said Stricker, noting the back stiffness issues that Woods faces in even the best of times.
“With this weather, it’s a challenge. It’s cool, it’s damp, and so I imagine that will probably be the biggest challenge for him this week is to be able to feel like his body is 100 percent and give it a rip.”
