ShareThisFor the first time in nearly nine months on Thursday, Tiger Woods played 18 holes in a PGA Tour event and signed a scorecard showing his total number of strokes. Gone is the pop-culture hoopla surrounding his return in Arizona and the uncommon rhythm of match play, which sent Woods home after two days.
Now, finally, we'll see clues to the most intriguing question in golf these days: When will Tiger's A-game return? His opening round 1-under 71 at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral that put him well down the leaderboard doesn't offer many clues.
Only four weeks remain until the opening round of the Masters (April 9), always Woods' early-season target date. He's navigating unfamiliar territory this year, without any spillover momentum from the previous season or his annual midwinter joyride at Torrey Pines.
Woods figures to play two tournaments before the Masters, this week and in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill (in Orlando), March 26-29. These events should offer insight into the state of his game -- the world's top 50 players are gathered this week and a strong field historically convenes at Bay Hill.
He's diving into the pool, in other words.
Woods, in his news conference Wednesday, said his knee was less sore than he expected after match play. Still, he acknowledged he can't really judge his readiness for competition until he completes a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament. Or, put another way, check back Sunday night.
As for the azalea-covered jewel on the horizon, Woods offered pointed comments about Augusta National, at least by his tame standards. Asked a general question about the course, he said, "I just hope the excitement comes back on the back nine. It's not what it used to be."
This will be a popular topic next month, because the past two Masters created precious little excitement; Trevor Immelman shot a final-round 75 last year and still won by three. More and more marquee players are publicly wondering if the Masters is losing its flavor in the wake of recent course changes.
Then again, Woods could reshape the conversation if he resumes winning.
BROKEN BARKLEY?
And into the dry, dimpled world of Golf Channel stepped Charles Barkley.
Barkley's off-camera judgment is not always sound, as his recent DUI arrest showed. But his hitch-filled swing provided an ideal springboard for "The Haney Project," the network's reality series in which noted coach Hank Haney tries to fix Barkley's unsightly attempts to hit a golf ball.
Relentless hype and all, the show is worth watching -- especially when Barkley speaks. He described his action as "swinging and dancing at the same time." When Haney relayed Tiger Woods' plea to fix the plane of Barkley's swing, Charles joked, "What does he know about the swing?" On his efforts to lose weight, Barkley said, "I couldn't get behind the ball because, No. 1, I was fat."
Most viewers will identify with Barkley's quest because so many people struggle with their swing. Then again, few people bring such a lively, entertaining soundtrack to those struggles.
"The Haney Project" airs on Monday nights.
(E-mail Ron Kroichick at rkroichick@sfchronicle.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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