Tiger Woods Swings into Second Place at Valspar

JUPITER, FL – March 12, 2018 – What an exciting weekend for the golf community! InJupiter congratulates Jupiter local Tiger Woods on his tie for second at the Valspar Championship, which took place in Palm Harbor, Florida this past weekend. Woods finished only one shot behind winner Paul Casey.

Woods made great strides after having a lower lumbar spinal fusion surgery only 11 months ago. Due to this condition, it has limited his range of motion, therefore, forcing Woods to rebuild his swing, which viewers quickly picked up on after the first hole.

Woods' caddie, Joe LaCava, explained, as quoted from PGA Tour, “He’s, I think, for real healthier this time because of the different surgery. I can tell by the way he’s swinging and carrying on off the golf course. He seems healthier. That’s the big difference.”

And just as Woods has rebuilt his swing, he has rebuilt his way back on the course with the show-stopping 44-foot-putt he holed on the 17th for a birdie, proving that Woods' talent never went away. This was a moment that reminded the ecstatic fans of the days when he would have copious unexpected plays that fashioned him into a golf sensation.

In the final round, Woods' chance at a playoff on the 72nd hole fell two feet short, resulting in a total score of 70.

“I think that I've gotten a little bit better than I was a couple weeks ago at Honda, keep getting a little bit better and sharper,” Woods said, as quoted by PGA Tour.

According to PGA Tour, currently, Woods ranks second on TOUR in clubhead speed, the only 40-something in the Top 30. He’s also inside the Top 30 in three of the four Strokes Gained statistics: Approach-the-Green (19th), Around-the-Green (21st) and Putting (23rd). At the Valspar, he ranked inside the Top 20 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Approach-the-Green, and Around-the-Green.

As The Masters Tournament is coming up in April, Woods might be catching the wind at the right time. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see when he competes against fellow international marvels on the green.