Tiger: I'll be basically freezing myself to death
It's easy to run out of superlatives when it comes to Tiger Woods. Somehow, after 508 days away from proper tournament golf, he made the cut for the 22nd straight time.
Unlike the likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose et al, Woods made it through to the weekend after yet another display of all-out guys, cunning and skill. Just 13 and a half months after that horrific car crash where he almost lost a leg he was back on familiar soil and in the zone.
None of us will ever get a sniff of what he's been though in his recovery, he did reveal that he had done something every single day since leaving his hospital bed, but he did give us an insight into what goes on after a round these days.
"A lot. A lot. Lots of treatments. Lots of ice. Lots of ice baths. Just basically freezing myself to death. That's just part of the deal. And getting all the swelling out as best as we possibly can and getting it mobile and warmed up, activated and explosive for the next day. Those are two totally different ends of the spectrum.
"Most sports, if you're not feeling very good, you got a team-mate to pass it off to, and they can kind of shoulder the load. Or in football, one day a week. Here we've got four straight days, and there's no-one that's going to shoulder the load besides me. I've got to figure out a way to do it. My team's been incredible at getting me into this position so that I can compete. I'll take it from there. I know how to play. I've just got to get out there where I can play."
After Friday Woods was asked how he felt two rounds in. The answer was most revealing in that he was only really thinking about another W rather than another ice bath.
"I don't feel as good as I would like to feel. That's OK. As I said, I've got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I'll have one of those light-bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done. You've seen guys do it with a chance going into the back nine. If you are within five or six going into the back nine, anything can happen. I need to get myself there. That's the key. I need to get myself there."
That wasn't to happen but it's already been one hell of an effort.
Unlike the likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose et al, Woods made it through to the weekend after yet another display of all-out guys, cunning and skill. Just 13 and a half months after that horrific car crash where he almost lost a leg he was back on familiar soil and in the zone.
None of us will ever get a sniff of what he's been though in his recovery, he did reveal that he had done something every single day since leaving his hospital bed, but he did give us an insight into what goes on after a round these days.
"A lot. A lot. Lots of treatments. Lots of ice. Lots of ice baths. Just basically freezing myself to death. That's just part of the deal. And getting all the swelling out as best as we possibly can and getting it mobile and warmed up, activated and explosive for the next day. Those are two totally different ends of the spectrum.
"Most sports, if you're not feeling very good, you got a team-mate to pass it off to, and they can kind of shoulder the load. Or in football, one day a week. Here we've got four straight days, and there's no-one that's going to shoulder the load besides me. I've got to figure out a way to do it. My team's been incredible at getting me into this position so that I can compete. I'll take it from there. I know how to play. I've just got to get out there where I can play."
After Friday Woods was asked how he felt two rounds in. The answer was most revealing in that he was only really thinking about another W rather than another ice bath.
"I don't feel as good as I would like to feel. That's OK. As I said, I've got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I'll have one of those light-bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done. You've seen guys do it with a chance going into the back nine. If you are within five or six going into the back nine, anything can happen. I need to get myself there. That's the key. I need to get myself there."
That wasn't to happen but it's already been one hell of an effort.