Eingangshalle » , considering theres no half-stroke at stake

Stage fright. Health. Confidence. These are just a few of the obstacles Tiger Woods faces this week in his anticipated return to competitive golf.So what else can we expect from the 14-time major winner? Our panel samples all things Tiger for this weeks edition of Monday Four-Ball.1. What will be the hardest obstacle for Tiger to overcome this week?SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman: Confidence. From everything we are hearing, Tiger is physically ready to go. We arent talking about just another player. We are talking about the confidence to be a top-shelf player again. I am not talking about 2000 Tiger, but Tiger is special. Can he have the confidence in himself to be competitive and beat guys like Jordan Spieth or Jason Day? I dont care who you are -- confidence can help you overcome so much.ESPN.com senior golf writer Michael Collins: By teeing it up for four straight competitive rounds, hell be overcoming the hardest obstacle hes had to face -- time. Nothing is more difficult for a golfer than having to sit out and wait to get healthy. Besides that, trusting the new golf ball will be a big obstacle as well. Remember, it took Rory McIlroy a year to win after he switched golf ball companies.ESPN.com senior golf writer Bob Harig: His own expectations. Most realize that a 15-month break due to physical issues requires a grace period. Woods himself knows that. And yet, he admitted Sunday that his competitiveness makes it very difficult to not try to compete.ESPN.com senior golf writer Jason Sobel: Believe it or not, stage fright. As he told Bob Harig on the range Sunday, Tiger is going to feel some butterflies this week. Hell need to rise above it. Harvest the good energy and block out the bad. Its one thing to post a good score on his home course in complete privacy, or stripe drives on an empty range. Its another to do that with people watching all over the world.2. What do you make of Woods decision to change golf balls for the Hero World Challenge?Coachman: Tiger says it all starts with the ball. I am a little surprised he didnt go for Titleist, but leave it to Tiger to go against the grain. At some point he had to make the change, and why not do it out of the box in a small event in the Bahamas instead of waiting for a full-field event in the new year?Collins: Its a smart move to do it now so he can find out exactly how the ball will feel when he hits shots in tournament conditions. The hope is he will get in situations that he hasnt practiced for, so then hell learn exactly how the ball reacts on those ticklish shots that require the most nerve.Harig: It makes sense because Nike is no longer going to be making a golf ball. He needed to find something else, and its quite likely the Bridgestone ball he is using this week possesses very similar characteristics to what hes been using.Sobel: Good for him. Nikes decision to leave the equipment game opened the door for all of the players previously under contract to sample new things. If Tiger showed up this week with the same Nike ball and same equipment, it would show he either hasnt tested new stuff or doesnt care enough to switch. I like the fact that hes willing to explore whats out there.3. With so many questions surrounding Tiger, which one is the most important to answer this week?Coachman: For me, it would be Does his back pass the test? Once he gets through four rounds of walking and swinging, I honestly dont care where he finishes in the field. I just care that he finishes. He disappointed all of us when he didnt play at the Safeway Open in October, but if he comes out with a great attitude and in great physical condition, people will forget that very, very quickly.Collins: Most importantly for Tiger, how does he feel, health-wise, after every round? And then how does he feel after the tournament is over? Could he play again the following week? The health of his back, and health overall, will be the biggest question that needs answering this week.Harig: Can he play 72 holes without pain and discomfort? Getting through an entire week -- including practice, the pro-am and all of his other duties associated with the event -- should be considered a good first step in his comeback.Sobel: Can he legitimately walk 72 holes and post a decent score? I know that doesnt sound like much, but I saw where one betting parlor is taking nearly even money on Tiger retiring by the end of next year and has set the over/under on his number of starts at 6.5. People really seem to think hes done. That, if anything, is what he needs to disprove. This isnt about the result.4. Are you taking the over or the under of 72.5 for Tigers first-round score at the Hero World Challenge?Coachman: I am taking the under. I choose to believe in his greatness. I know one round doesnt determine that, but I think he is determined to come out of the box and show the world that he has his game right away. I believe he will shoot even par or better in his first round on Thursday.Collins: Over. Weve heard the, flushing it, crushing it, puring it on the range song way too many times before, followed by a 78. Tiger shooting par or better after 15 months off is a bit too much to ask even for a guy considered by many, including me, to be the GOAT.Harig: Over. Not because an under-par score is impossible. Who knows, perhaps Tiger shoots in the 60s. But this will be the first time in 15 months hell have a pencil and scorecard in his hand when it matters.Sobel: That sounds about right. Ill take a round of exactly 72.5. All right, considering theres no half-stroke at stake, Ill take the under. Why? Well, I do believe he wants to prove people wrong and will be amped up to compete again. 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Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. South Africa got an early sighting of the future on the third day of the Hobart Test and the good news is that it appears bright. In Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock, they have a middle-order pair who balance caution and creativity, and at 26 and 23 years old respectively, could serve them for at least the next five years.Both have roots in Johannesburg, the city of gold, where they each attended prestigious sporting schools - Bavuma was at St Davids, de Kock at King Edward VII - and played for the Lions. But it is here in Hobart, some might say the city of cold, where their Test tryst has truly blossomed. They put on 144 together, the highest sixth-wicket partnership by a visiting team at the Bellerive Oval, and stretched South Africas lead to what may turn out to be a match-winning one.In a morning session that ground Australias attack down, Bavuma and de Kock underlined the difference between the two sides. Its not just that South Africas batsmen have the temperament to spend time in the middle, its that their newer batsmen do. Australias middle-order has not yet shown that temperament. It isnt the first time on this tour that Bavuma and de Kock have done this - in Perth, South Africa were 81 for 5 when the pair come together and added 71, which helped the visitors move to 242.In Hobart, when Bavuma and de Kock came together on the first day, South Africa were already ahead. They had recovered from 76 for 4, when Bavuma had walked in to bat, to 132 for 5. Bavuma was on 28 off 51 balls, had survived a few early scares and earned the praise of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. I love Temba Bavuma, keep going big man, Smith tweeted.If South Africa were to extend their advantage, Bavuma needed a partner and thats where de Kock was crucial. They complemented each other perfectly.Bavuma has already shown an appetite for a fight. In Perth, he spent two hours and 17 minutes helping Faf du Plessis save South Africa from a first-innings collapse. He has an ability to absorb pressure.De Kock has the capacity to transfer pressure back to the bowler. He is an energetic player who does not allow anyone to dictate his approach. Perhaps, he has a bit of the David Warner license to play his natural game, but he does not abuse that. He is inventive, risk-taking and quick-scoring.With a stubborn batsman at one end and a busy one at the other, Australia spent the morning session under the pump. They were able to make things look more difficult for Bavuma, especially in Mitchell Starcs opening spell. He moved the ball away, probed the area outside off stump, trying to incite the drive, but Bavuma was not tempted. He is a compact player with a tight technique, who makes the opposition work for his wicket. Josh HHazlewood almost claimed it - he got a ball to kick up and Bavuma nearly played on while trying to fend it.dddddddddddd He survived and got two off the next ball to reach his second fifty on this tour.De Kock had begun the day 10 runs behind Bavuma, but caught up quickly. His fifty came off 70 balls, and then he surged past Bavuma. While Bavuma fought through the 50s, de Kock raced to 80. He created run-scoring opportunities by playing late, piercing gaps and maintained a consistent scoring rate throughout his innings. De Kocks first fifty had taken him 70 balls and the second took 69. Instinctive shots is how he described what he did on Monday.Compare that to the 119 balls Bavuma faced for his fifty, and you have an idea of the difference between them. For a team, having two players of this calibre is ideal and the results are showing.In this year, de Kock has scored 560 runs in six Tests at an average of 80.00, while Bavuma has accumulated 465 runs in seven Tests at 58.12. Hashim Amla - 611 runs at 55.54 - is the only South Africa batsman to have scored more runs in 2016.Among de Kocks knocks was a maiden hundred in Centurion and five successive scores of fifty or more, including this century. His consistency has cemented him in the Test XI and comparisons with the best are mushrooming. The most notable one is with Adam Gilchrist, and now that de Kock has scored a second Test century, on Gilchrists birthday and at the same ground where the former Australia wicketkeeper scored his maiden hundred, those could continue. He maintains its not something he is trying to do.I dont try and be like him. Thats just the way I play. I dont see myself being like him. I just see the ball, hit the ball. I have my own game plan. Some days, I can get off to a good start and keep a good momentum. Some days, I have to grind it out, de Kock said.On other days, Bavuma does the grinding. He has been spoken of as a batsman similar to Gus Logie, partly because of his height, mostly because of his fight. By lunch, Bavuma had faced 201 deliveries. Australias entire first innings lasted only 197.With Bavuma and de Kock coming of age, South Africa could have a few selection headaches when a fit AB de Villiers returns to the XI. One possibility is for de Kock to move to the top-two, especially if Stephen Cook keeps misfiring. but with concerns surrounding workload, it may not happen. Another solution is to leave Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy to fight it out, but with du Plessis making a strong case to stay on as captain, that may also prove tricky. For now, its a problem South Africa wont mind having. ' ' '