Tiger Woods looks solid in Tavistock Cup test run
Just days before Tiger Woods stepped foot on Lake Nona's grounds for the Tavistock Cup, the 14-time major winner made it a point to let the world know, via his website (of course), that his questionable Achilles was just fine.
After testing it out during a Friday practice session, Woods declared himself good to go for not just a final tuneup before the first major of the year, but two rounds of exhibition golf at the Tavistock Cup.
That was a total of six competitive rounds of golf in seven days ... coming back from a strained Achilles.
It sounded crazy, Woods playing so much golf right before the Master, after he left Doral with a limp. But the goal all along was to get in the best possible position before heading Augusta, and that apparently meant getting in as many reps as possible.
The questions about the Achilles will no doubt continue throughout the entire week, but Woods certainly left Day 1 of the Tavistock with a lot of positives, including a 6-under 66 on his own ball (Woods and Albany teammate Justin Rose fired a best-ball 9-under 63).
Now, there's no point in over-analyzing Woods' round; it was an exhibition match and considering the only thing on the line is bragging rights, you'd expect all 24 guys in the field to go after every pin position on the course. Even still, watching him in the first round, you couldn't help but notice that the limp was gone and the irons were incredibly crisp.
Woods tested the Achilles out on a number of occasions, including on the 578-yard 15th hole, where he opted to follow Bubba Watson's drive off the tee, ripping a draw over the trees to within a couple yards of Watson's tee shot. If the Achilles was still an issue, Woods would have certainly taken a less aggressive line off the tee.
It was just one of a couple of shots that made you believe Woods really was telling the truth when he said it was just a strain.
So what do a couple good drives and a solid round tell us about Woods' health going forward? Not a whole lot. But at the very least, the fact that he's not limping and seems to be going after the ball has to mean something in the short-term.
We'll get a better glimpse of how things are holding up over the weekend at Bay Hill, but for the moment, it looks like Woods' game is back on track with the Masters only a couple weeks away.
Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
• Sweet 16 by the numbers: Big East and Big Ten teams dominate
• The hottest fashion accessory at the NCAA tournament? Flashy socks
• WR Hines Ward retires as a 'Steeler for life'
• Peyton Manning, Broncos make it official: Five years, $96 million
