![\"Tiger](\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/tiger1k-1.jpg\" "\\"Tiger")
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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. \u2014 Tiger Woods returned to the U.S. Open for the first time in three years and hardly anyone noticed. <\/p>\n
Then again, it was late Sunday afternoon. Shinnecock Hills was practically empty. <\/p>\n
\u201cA bizarre experience,\u201d said Jordan Spieth, who played nine holes with him. <\/p>\n
Such a quiet moment was rare for Woods in his celebrated return following four back surgeries. A year that began with intrigue soon gave way to hysteria over anticipation of his first victory in nearly five years. <\/p>\n
That time has not arrived as Woods heads into the second major of the year. <\/p>\n
\u201cGolf is always frustrating,\u201d Woods said Tuesday after going nine holes with Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, winners of the last two PGA Tour events. \u201cThere\u2019s always something that isn\u2019t quite right, and that\u2019s where we as players have to make adjustments. You\u2019ve seen the tournaments I\u2019ve played this year. There\u2019s always something. Hopefully, this is one of those weeks where I put it all together and even it out. And we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d <\/p>\n
It has been 10 years since Woods won his last U.S. Open, his 14th and last major. All it takes for him to temper any frustrations is to look back at last year, when he didn\u2019t know if he would even play another U.S. Open. <\/p>\n
He was at a low point in his career and his personal life. While recovering from fusion surgery \u2014 his fourth surgery on his back in three years \u2014 he was arrested on a DUI charge and found to have a mixture of two painkillers, the sleeping aid Ambien, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the active ingredient for marijuana in his system. He entered a clinic to get help and pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge that kept him out of jail. <\/p>\n
Asked about the video of his arrest and how his life has changed, Woods replied, \u201cIt\u2019s gotten better.\u201d <\/p>\n
That seems like longer than a year ago because Woods has been such an active part of the PGA Tour again. In some instances, he looks like the same Woods. <\/p>\n
He hit one drive past Johnson on the par-5 fifth hole Tuesday that left him a 2-iron to the front of the green. He had two chances to win in March, missing a long birdie putt on the last hole in Innisbrook and hitting a drive out-of-bounds on the 16th hole at Bay Hill the following week. <\/p>\n
But no trophies. No fist pumps. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s two ways of looking at that,\u201d Woods said. \u201cI\u2019ve given myself chances to win, which I didn\u2019t know if I was ever going to do again. And then again, not happy with the fact that I didn\u2019t win because I loved how it felt being there. \u2026 And so, yeah, I\u2019ve had my opportunities. Also, I\u2019m very thankful to have had those opportunities. I didn\u2019t know if I was going to have them again.\u201d <\/p>\n
What kind of opportunities will Shinnecock Hills offer? <\/p>\n
Tuesday was the busiest day of practice under a clear sky, warm weather and a course that just about everyone is raving about. <\/p>\n
Woods played nine holes in the afternoon Sunday and Monday \u2014 a change from the days when he would sweep the dew off the grass first thing in the morning \u2014 and nine holes Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n
And while the crowd was relatively sparse for his morning round, there is no mistaking when Woods is around. <\/p>\n
Jason Day was on the putting green when only a few people were around. And then suddenly, there was a gathering. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe rolls up and there\u2019s 30 guys on the putting green, and it was hard to do your work,\u201d Day said. \u201cBut that\u2019s just the Tiger effect, and everyone wants to see him. Everyone wants to see what he looks like and how big he is or just see, I guess, the myth behind Tiger Woods. \u2026 It is definitely bigger, always bigger when he\u2019s in contention on Sundays. And if he\u2019s in contention this Sunday, then it\u2019s going to be huge.\u201d <\/p>\n
Woods last played in the U.S. Open in 2015 at Chambers Bay. He was coming off the highest score of his career, an 85 in the third round at the Memorial, and never stood a chance on the course built over a former gravel pit. He shot rounds of 80-76 and was gone by the weekend, and before long, he was gone from golf with the first of his back surgeries. <\/p>\n
Three years from his last U.S. Open, five years from his last victory, and so much has changed. <\/p>\n
Johnson returned to No. 1 in the world with his six-shot victory last week at the St. Jude Classic, the 18th of his career, all since Woods won his last U.S. Open. He replaced Justin Thomas, the PGA champion who turned 25 in April. <\/p>\n
Woods will play with both of them when the first round begins on Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can see that there may be a sense of \u2026 this is the last kind of push that he needs for his career,\u201d Day said. \u201cBut at the same time, I know that he\u2019s still hungry. I think he\u2019s hungry for that next win and trying to get \u2014 not the monkey off his back, because he\u2019s done it so many times \u2014 but just coming back and competing and playing well against our generation now. And I think that\u2019s what he\u2019s looking forward to.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"