Tigers Woods is still the man to watch

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA. — The worst place to watch golf is at a golf tournament. Seriously. You spend all day dodging craned necks and thrown elbows, drunks and dolts, browbeating marshals and camera-swinging photographers, all to catch a glimpse of a ball in flight or Tiger Woods eating trail mix.

Yet, on a day like Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club, a golf tournament is the best place to be. Stunning weather, an even more stunning Donald Ross course and the vibe of professional golf in Philadelphia again combined to bring enormous galleries (an estimated 36,685) to the AT&T National.

Most everyone came to see primarily one player. You know, the one with 14 majors whose life outside golf threatened to derail his livelihood on it.

Turns out, that threat has yet to materialize. In fact, Thursday’s opening round continued proving that, while Woods may have lost sponsors and fans in the esoteric world of public opinion, he hasn’t lost them in his safe zone on the golf course.

“They were incredible, absolutely incredible,” Woods said of the congregation that followed his opening-round 73. “They were following us, having a great time, and unfortunately we didn’t give them a whole lot to cheer about.”

Which was true. Woods and playing partners Davis Love III and Dustin Johnson shot a combined 12-over par, with Love frittering away a decent start to finish at eight-over 78.

Woods’ three-over round, which left him tied for 81st and needing to cover some ground to make the cut, was measured best by its unpredictability. How does a player who hit six drives of 329 yards or longer miss a green from 83 yards with a wedge in his hands? And how does a player who made a 61-foot birdie putt (his longest in six years, according to the PGA Tour) miss six of eight attempts from five to 10 feet?

“I hit it good all day and made absolutely nothing,” Woods said. “I just putted awful. My speed was good, but I never hit the ball on line. It was a very frustrating day on the greens.”

Four players — Arjun Atwal, Joe Ogilvie, Nick Watson and Jason Day — share the lead at four-under 66. Woods, meanwhile, is seven shots back.

Certainly, the crowd wanted to love Woods, even through his frustration. During Wednesday’s opening ceremony, Woods drew by far the biggest ovation (louder even than Jon Bon Jovi’s reception) and was greeted at the first tee Thursday by ear-rattling cheers. Kids, men with cigars, women in sundresses and quite fit seniors chased Woods across hilly Aronimink, seeking just a glimpse of him.

And those “loud and rowdy” Philadelphia spectators Woods predicted? They were loud and occasionally rowdy (folks, the ropes are there for a reason) but did not heckle, provoke, badger, bait or otherwise disrupt Woods’ round. Mostly, they acted like most people at a well-attended golf tournament: Where’s the best place to watch this guy up close?

Those ropes that line the fairways and greens of tournament golf demarcate a metaphorical line as well as a physical one. On Thursday, Chad “Johnson” Ochocinco gave the world this via Twitter.

“Did Elin Woods really win 750 million in her divorce settlement? If this is true I will never ever ever ever play golf.”

That’s the off-course world in which Woods lives now. In that world, newspapers and websites scramble to solicit the details of his divorce settlement (do you believe the $750-million figure?). In that world, Woods speaks to federal authorities regarding his treatment from a Canadian doctor accused of distributing human growth hormone.

“Outside the ropes there are certainly still distractions,” Woods said Tuesday. “It is what it is. I think everyone has had distractions in their lives.”

Maybe that’s why the crowds are so receptive. Combine golf starvation (Philadelphia hasn’t seen PGA Tour golf in eight years) with information saturation (did the Philadelphia Daily News really need to put a photo of Woods working out at a gym on its website?) and you get people who just want to see the game. No matter how far they have to stretch their necks.

Philadelphia was supposed to be the place where Woods needed Kevlar to deflect the insults, but that won’t be necessary. People don’t come to golf tournaments to see Woods conduct depositions with federal authorities or divorce lawyers. They come to see him make 61-foot birdie putts.

Of course the public cares what Woods did off the course. They just don’t care while he’s on it. And his fans appear quite comfortable with the distinction.

mark.wogenrich@mcall.com