SAN FRANCISCO — The procedure Tiger Woods goes through to participate in aggressive golfing is not outlined in element, but it understandably consists of a lot more than a handful of toe touches and informal swings on the driving range.

Woods is generally awake hours prior to his tee time, finding in a heat-up workout and going to with a coach, generally to have work completed on his neck and his back again.

For the reason that he no lengthier travels with his individual bodily instruction specialist, Woods often depends on the trainers provided by the PGA Tour or, in the circumstance of this week’s PGA Championship, these on-website at TPC Harding Park.

So it is telling that for the duration of 1 of the follow-round days right before the PGA Championship, Woods felt superior adequate to forgo that halt together the way to prepping for the event, a nice shock for him in his battle with back stiffness.

Large offer? Probably not. But for a guy who tends to make news due to the fact he altered putters, Woods producing it by means of a tournament 7 days without the need of any actual physical problems is anything to notice.

That might be the largest takeaway for Woods soon after his tie for 37th at the PGA Championship, where he shot a remaining-round 67, produced a handful of extra putts and normally left San Francisco with a brighter outlook than the overcast, misty skies portrayed.

“To me, I always search at the wellbeing,” said Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie. “I assume he feels and appears to be like healthier. Which is big for me. If he is sensation and seeking healthful, I know he can enjoy. There had been a lot of good top quality drives, and [Sunday], we experienced simpler problems, but he strike a large amount of great irons shots, which I constantly enjoy to see.”

Woods clearly has operate to do. He struggled on the greens, had difficulties having the ball in the fairway constantly, and was not his normal stellar self with his iron play — nonetheless he nevertheless completed below par, turned what really should have been a genuinely poor spherical on Saturday into a 72, and was capable to leave Harding Park with lots to make on.

But it all goes back to his health. Now a active stretch awaits, some of which points out why he failed to play more to this issue. Woods has this week off right before the FedEx Cup playoffs get started with the Northern Belief at TPC Boston on Aug. 20.

At 47th in the FedEx Cup standings, Woods can not afford to pay for to skip that match if he has intentions of obtaining to Atlanta for the Tour Championship, exactly where he received in 2018 for his 80th PGA Tour victory. Woods has 604 details — with 500 of them coming from his October victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan.

That indicates the chance he’ll participate in many months in a row, one thing he has not accomplished given that the Hero Earth Challenge and the Presidents Cup in December. And at that Presidents Cup, he was ready to skip a day since of back again stiffness.

“We have been coaching for that,” Woods said. “Making an attempt to get my power and stamina up, that means to creating certain that I can tackle that kind of workload. We understood as soon as I started off actively playing all over again when I fully commited to Memorial that this was heading to be a significant workload, and my teaching classes we have been pushing it pretty tough, creating positive I get my energy and endurance up.

“This will be no various. We are going to be pushing it challenging to make absolutely sure that I can stay potent and have the stamina to maintain heading.”

That’s all fantastic and good, but there is even now the issue of Woods’ recreation. He’s played just two times in the nine months of the PGA Tour’s return from the crack imposed simply because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now he could most likely enjoy four times in 5 months, including the U.S. Open up.

“Some function demands to be accomplished,” LaCava explained. “He knows it. He demands to tighten up his limited recreation a minor bit, do the job on that at residence. You just keep doing the job at it. To me, it really is just a absence of taking part in tournament golfing, you know what I suggest? You can not duplicate that at home. I comprehend it. He won’t play these events, and he was not heading to increase tournaments. He was on lockdown through the virus, so I get that. It really is not a grievance, just a actuality. But I just imagine he requires additional reps at this level.”

Woods is probably to get them, and it will be a balancing act. He would like to make it to the Tour Championship, but he seemed unaware that there is just one week off involving it and the rescheduled U.S. Open. He requires to enjoy, but he does not require to enjoy far too much.

And he wants to operate on his video game in the places that put the most anxiety on his back again — placing, bunker engage in, wedge photographs.

Acquiring made use of to different putting surfaces and speeds necessitates considerable apply, just one of the explanations he went to a more time putter. The bunkers caused issue for all at Harding Park, and Woods converting just 2 of 11 help save chances was in part because of to that and putting. And Woods continues to be mediocre at finest when it comes to hitting wedge photographs, with his methods averaging 42 ft for his length to the hole from 100 to 125 yards.

Woods went to a diverse design of the Scotty Cameron putter he’s utilized for the the greater part of his career with mixed effects his problems ended up far more about the inexperienced speeds and acclimating to them than the putter. And he claimed working with a longer putter can help him apply for a longer time.

“Hopefully there are at minimum two more tournaments to get into the winner’s circle,” LaCava reported. “He is experienced a get this period [Japan], but he’d like to have one in the calendar year. He’s only played four instances [in 2020]. To me, it really is not so a great deal the Tour Championship — that would be a bonus at this level — just give us two extra likelihood to win a match. That is what we are on the lookout for.”

Of course, Woods and LaCava are hunting further than the FedEx playoffs. The U.S. Open up is next thirty day period. The Masters is scheduled for November. In between, there is a Zozo title defense, very likely at a location to be moved to the United States.

There is a lot of golfing to be performed. How substantially of it — and how helpful he can be — are the huge issues for Woods.