Despite Rumors to the Contrary, Tiger Woods is Still Not 'Back'

Tiger Woods sure can fool us golf fans. He puts together a decent round, like he did on Thursday at Firestone, and we all are quick to jump up and scream "He's baaack!" The truth is, we want him to be back. Maybe we do it for our own sake, thinking that somehow us willing him to be back to form would force him to actually do so. But we all know that one round isn't going to do that. We're not that stupid.

So on Friday, when Tiger slapped it around a golf course most seem to be taking full advantage of (two days in a row somehow has posted 64 or lower), we all kind of slide down in our chairs, hoping not to hear the boos and "told ya so's" of all the fans and critics out there that saw Thursday for what it was; a fine round and just that.

Friday showed what most of us expected on Thursday. Tiger hitting some loose iron shots, some even looser chips and pitches, and missing some putts that he would never miss back in his heyday. Tiger's 71 did show that despite anything we say, he is still one of the few people in the world that can still post a respectable score when he brings his worst game to the course, but this isn't 2004 anymore, and Tiger has to play great golf to even compete against the talent that is currently at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Tiger is frustrated, as he should be. It was an ugly round that never really had anything going, and like Phil Mickelson's pink pants, left a lot of us scratching our heads. It's going to take a while before he can string together 72 holes of tournament-champion golf, but for now, we can at least be happy that he's back. I know I am, no matter if he hit some shots on Friday that you wouldn't even be happy with.

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