The tight, tree-lined fairways at Club de Golf Chapultepec seem to be the course’s best defense, though on many holes the big hitters are simply hitting it over them. Tiger Woods has taken a different approach this week, opting to lay back with irons on many holes to set himself up with a distance he likes to the green. The problem is, when he’s been slightly off line, those trees suddenly come into play.
At the par-4 ninth hole, Woods’ 18th on Friday, the 14-time major winner laid back with an iron and found a fairway bunker. That was the least of his troubles, as he also had a huge tree between his ball and the green that he could have either gone over or around. Woods chose to go around, turning back the clock with a vintage helicopter follow-through cut shot that spun some 20 feet back toward the cup. Warning, NSFW content below:
We’ve seen a few of those helicopter follow-throughs during Woods’ comeback, but few of them have been paired with an incredible result. That was not the case here, as this is already an early candidate for shot of the year for Tiger, and maybe on the PGA Tour. Good luck not watching that one on repeat for the rest of the night.
Sadly, there is a catch. Woods went on to miss the birdie putt, which is like an NBA player breaking an opponent’s ankles but then missing the shot. You got to finish it off. Still, Woods posted one of the rounds of the day, a five-under 66 to get in shouting distance of the leaders heading into the weekend. But he’ll be thinking about missing this birdie putt all night.
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