Bryce Miller: Tiger Woods continues to hold Torrey Pines by the tail

Bryce Miller, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb 16, 2025

Published in Golf

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SAN DIEGO — A lone member of the swelling Torrey Pines gallery hunted for the perfect spot to maximize his lungs and catch the attention of a legend.

The fan yelled at soon-to-be-crowned Genesis Invitational winner Ludvig Aberg, well within range of the 25-year-old Swede and iconic tournament host Tiger Woods.

“You’re lucky! Tiger’s not playing!“

Woods smiled. He had not done much of that the last few weeks. He lost his other mother Kultida on Feb. 4.

Torrey Pines had been by his side for so many delicious and rewarding golf memories, including eight wins in all, capped by the stunning 19 playoff holes against Rocco Mediate at the 2008 U.S. Open.

This was Tiger’s course as much as any.

It took epic wildfires, a family loss and so much of the universe to bring Woods home. It means more when Tiger is there. It always does.

Aberg processed the twist Woods puts on things.

“To win this event, he means so much to our game and our tour,” Aberg said. “It’s really cool. It means a lot. And he’s the GOAT, obviously.”

This suddenly feels like more than a passing of the torch at Torrey Pines. It is Lady Liberty shuffling the flag to evolving mindsets along New York Harbor.

Aberg is 25. Woods is 49.

It has gotten so rare to see Woods at Torrey Pines, a symbol of our golfing past more than our present. We hear the roaring in our ears, but the decibels are fading.

The age, the injuries, the length of the course keeps closing the door in front of us.

“I’ve just always liked Torrey Pines,” Woods said.

And Torrey Pines liked him right back.

As Woods walked the grounds Sunday, any hint of him sparked a buzz until he was within sight. The clubs mean less than ever. The name and presence, somehow, mean more.

Rarity makes Torrey Pines grow fonder.

You can marvel at the drives of Rory McIlroy, the unrelenting overall game of Scottie Scheffler or the meteoric rise of tomorrow’s stars like Aberg, who had one win (don’t cheat) at the RSM Classic in 2023 before Sunday.

In the CBS booth on the 18th hole with Jim Nantz, Woods showed the mind behind the machine remains as sharp as ever. There’s so much knowledge.

Woods predicted a putt by Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer in the world, would straighten out at the end. It did.

Even if the clubs find dust, the knowledge that could be shared on television would elevate the global understanding of the game. Just go through the 25-year shot process on this course alone.

You can see unflappable confidence rising in Aberg.

Tiger-like?

“We talked about it sort of on the last green and I asked him (before the trophy ceremony) if this was his favorite Tour stop,” Aberg said. “It’s just surreal sort of talking to him about those things.”

This is where we’re at on the timeline.

It’s treacherous to dismiss what’s possible for Woods because he redefined it. He won his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters, turning back the clock.

Months later, Woods underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

You can bet he’s aware his old rival Phil Mickelson became the first player to win a major at 50, sewing up the 2021 PGA Championship on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Nothing might irk Woods more.

For now, however, there was heartache to mend. The loss of his mother so recently made caused an emotional accounting of all of it.

“Mom was my rock, you know?” Woods told Nantz on the broadcast. “Yeah, when my dad worked at McDonnell Douglas at that time and was working on the Delta rocket. And mom would take me to every junior event here in Southern California.

“Whether it’s nine holes out in Riverside, San Bernadino, she would drive out there and keep score, walk every hole and how many putts I hit, how many fairways I hit, how many greens I hit.”

The lessons weren’t near done.

“Oh, man, she was hard on me about school, about getting good grades and doing well in school,” Woods said. “To be honest with you, if I didn’t get any homework done, I wasn’t allowed to go play. Not with my friends, just go play in general.”

Tomorrow it will be someone else. Not as brilliant. Not as capable, Not as transcendent.

For now, while we can still see onto a glimpse of Tiger and what he did and what he meant, you would beg for more of that magic. The fist pump. The explosion of confidence. The roar.

Next time it might be Davis Thompson, Akshay Bhatia or a guy named Maverick McNealy because of his grandfather’s work in the Detroit auto industry.

Make no mistake, though. There’s only one Tiger.