That comic Tiger Woods suddenly back after 1-over 72 leaves him four shots back at U.S. Open

LA JOLLA, Calif. - After Tiger Woods’ very tame (much too tame) funny dig at hockey turned into an even more comical puckhead furor - and the predictably lame backtrack came out - it was safe to wonder whether the greatest golfer in history would ever make a public joke again.

But there Tiger is after posting a 1-over 72 in his prize fight bout with Phil Mickelson, cracking on himself. Specifically his double bogey on the first hole of a round that already had golf writers all but holding vigils for his surgically repaired knee.

When asked if he’d “gotten in the flow” early in the U.S. Open - a key Tiger himself cited in pre-tournament interviews, Woods turned into Chris Rock. OK, more like that guy who drives a truck who gets up on open mike night at one of those dives of a comedy club. Hey, this is Tiger. The humor standards aren’t very high.

“When you hit six shots on the first hole, you get in the flow quick,” Tiger said moments ago. “That’s a lot of shots to get into the flow.”

Tiger Woods also cracked on the golf-writer obsession about him not having walked a full 18 holes once since the Masters (and I’m guilty on this one too). When asked what he learned in his first tournament round, Woods deadpanned back, “I can walk 18 holes. I guess I don’t need a cart yet.”

All in all, Woods seemed extremely pleased with a 1-over that leaves him only four shots back of clubhouse leader/sudden Nationwide Tour hero Justin Hicks. He didn’t even seem to mind finishing one shot worse than Phil on the day. As much as the media tried to get him to say that his knee is killing him - and boy, did people ever try - Tiger wasn’t biting. He admitted to soreness and some twinges of pain, which looked consistent with the way he looked playing.

He said that he didn’t wear a brace or even a sleeve on the most talked-about knee in golf history. This only caused a few golf writers to grumble out loud (after Tiger walked away of course), “I don’t care what he says. I know he’s wearing something.”

I don’t know. I’d go with Tiger’s word on this one. It’s not like he’s pushing Adam Scott pinky finger tales. This is Tiger. He doesn’t usually get into much nonsense.

Mainly, it’s just great to have the Funny Man back.

As cranky as those once light-hearted, laid-back lovable Canadians are getting these days - apparently a little stronger dollar can create an arrogant attitude - Woods has to know any joke’s risky.