Brandel Chamblee admits ‘I was wrong’ about Tiger Woods’ comeback

Despite his reputation as a Tiger Woods basher, Brandel Chamblee has claimed often that he hoped to be wrong about his view that the winner of 79 PGA Tour events would fail to make a successful comeback.

Well, after watching Woods explode off the tee and hit his irons with such strength and accuracy, the opinionated Golf Channel analyst said he was ready to eat crow.

“I’d say the same thing [in numerous interviews ahead of Woods’ triumphant return to golf at last week’s Hero World Challenge]: I don’t see any way back for him,” Chamblee averred during a roundtable discussion with Ryan Burr and Frank Nobilo after Woods finished T9 in the Bahamas. “It’s the body, it’s the swing, it’s the age, it’s the stress. And then it’s the chipping.”

Thursday marked the first competitive round for Woods since that awful 77 in Dubai in February. But for a rocky 3-over 75 on Saturday, the general consensus was that Tiger had little rust to shake off in his return to competitive golf after 301 days of his most recent injury-related layoff. With Woods finding 13 of 14 fairways during Sunday’s finale and, despite a double-bogey on the par-4 10th hole and back-to-back bogeys to finish with a final-round 68, and saving his continuing chipping issues for another conversation, Chamblee uncharacteristically conceded he erred on most of those factors.

“I’d always say ‘I hope I’m wrong.’ Well I was wrong,” an impassioned Chamblee acknowledged. “Because I didn’t think he’d come back with this much speed. I didn’t think his swing would be this good. I didn’t think he’d look this good. I didn’t think his irons would be this good.”

What particularly excited the trio of talking heads was Woods’ play off the tee.

Chamblee noted that when “a different Tiger Woods” was at his peak, completing the “Tiger Slam” in 2000-2001, he drove the ball “so straight.

“That allowed him to win four major championships in a row, given all of his other talents,” Chamblee said. “That’s what’s so impressive this week is that he had complete control of his driver [but for Saturday under more challenging weather conditions].”

Trevor Immelman, for his part, could barely contain his elation over what he witnessed from Woods, who finished all 72 holes of a tournament for the first time since he came in 15th of 17 at last year’s Hero.

“His golf swing looked fantastic ... Everything just looked right on the money,” the two-time tour winner said. “Next time he tees it up if he isn’t the favorite, he’ll be the second favorite.”

All three agreed that gone was the gimpy, grimacing shell of a former golfer who hobbled away from the Dubai Desert Classic like an old man. In his place was a pain-free, healthy, almost-42-year-old contender (Woods’ birthday is Dec. 30).

“He looks his age, which is an improvement [over how he appeared in the Middle East],” Chamblee noted. “He was limping, he was in pain.

“He doesn’t look like an old man anymore,” he said.

Immelman eagerly agreed.

“At almost 42 years old, 180 [m.p.h.] ball speed,” he gushed. “Man, that’s impressive.”