Wyndham Championship: Tiger’s still waiting for that title but looks to be out of the Woods

He has a long wait now until his next tournament so it would be premature to say a long-awaited win was round the corner, but there are definite signs that Tiger Woods has arrested his decline and is on the up.

 

The former world No1 fell short of a first title since 2013 at the Wyndham Championship at the weekend, but he put himself in a position to win and on the whole performed admirably.

 

Woods finished tied for 10th – his best result in 20 outings, only 11 of which he has played the full 72 holes – as the evergreen Davis Love III became the PGA Tour’s third oldest winner.

 

Tiger must have been frustrated with a missed putt at the end of this third round which cost him a place in the last group. He then left a few putts out there on Sunday’s front nine before a triple bogey at 11 effectively ended his hopes.

 

But I think this is a glass-half-full scenario and I see lots more to come from the 14-time Major winner. His swing is much improved, he has more control and better balance. Unlike in some appearances over the past couple of seasons, he wasn’t struggling to hit the ball down the fairway. 

 

If Woods, 39, needs any encouragement that he could yet have more success he need look no further than the man who beat him and everyone else on Sunday: 51-year-old Love. 

 

America’s Ryder Cup captain for next year certainly didn’t look like a senior golfer, playing beautifully to win his 21st PGA Tour title by one shot from Jason Gore.

 

Love has had a wonderful career. At one time a world No1 who was just missing that elusive Major, he memorably ended that wait with an emotional US PGA Championship triumph in 1997.

 

His longevity is in part down to his extremely sound swing, as well as a level of success that allowed him to enjoy a more relaxed schedule. 

 

It was an altogether grittier sort of victory for England’s David Horsey at the Made in Denmark event as he finished with a two-over-par 73, but all that matters is that he took home the trophy from what looked a very tricky course.

 

Horsey has now won four times in six years on the European Tour, and it’s hugely important to keep those wins ticking over. Currently at No164 in the world rankings, his target has to be to crack the top 50.

 

Tiger will be heartbroken to be missing the Barclays this week, the first leg of four great weeks of action in the FedEx Playoffs.

 

With $10m up for grabs, world No1 Jordan Spieth and recent US PGA winner Jason Day will be the men to beat. I’m intrigued to see whether Phil Mickelson can build on some recent signs of form.