It may be day by day for Tiger Woods, but on Monday at the Ryder Cup he finally came out of hibernation, thumping Italian Francesco Molinari, 4 and 3.
It was less than 24 hours ago that Woods, paired with Steve Stricker, received his worst defeat in Ryder Cup play, a 6-and-5 loss in foursomes to Lee Westwood and Luke Donald.
Not knowing how Woods’ game could rebound, as his year had been so topsy-turvy, the draw of Molinari, ranked No. 32 in the world, could have been very difficult.
Woods lost his singles match in 1997 at Valderrama to another Italian, Constantino Rocca, 4 and 2, in what would make the difference in the U.S. losing 13.5-14.5.
On Monday, Woods toyed with Molinari for a while, but then made his move over the stretch of holes farthest from the clubhouse. He hit two solid iron shots that produced a birdie on the par-3 10th hole, then holed out from the fairway on the par-4 12th hole. Neither Woods nor caddie Steve Williams knew the ball had found the hole. When the eagle was confirmed, Woods flashed his signature smile.
After three consecutive birdies and an eagle, Woods yelled out “chicken” when he pulled his iron shot on the par-3 13th hole into the heart of the green and 30 feet away from the hole. Moments later Woods drained the putt to move to 4 up.
Woods was 9 under through the 15 holes, his best scoring round in 2010 . He earned a total of three points at Celtic Manor, tying leading point getter Stricker. He has earned 4-1/2 points in singles in his Ryder Cup career.
“I just stayed calm, stayed patient, stayed within myself and kept doing what I know I can do,” Woods said. “And it all turned, and I did.”
