Morning 9: Perspectives on the Japan Skins | Tiger talks knee surgery/issues | Rory: Brooks is right

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• Sean Zak, senior editor (@sean_zak): It was going to be difficult to live up to the hype, but I was genuinely entertained. This was much better than The Match, and probably always was going to be. The course was a highlight as we watched elite pros play shots for the first time. Tiger was a lowlight on the first four holes (rust, perhaps) and then started flagging it. Rory wilted after putting on a ball-striking display, and Day’s putter reigned supreme. The only lowlight was the man unmentioned thus far. Hideki really never got it going.

• Josh Sens, contributor (@JoshSens): Well, that was one weird show. The production itself was almost local cable access quality – you could hear the players talking and then you couldn’t; the shot tracer worked and then it didn’t; the images glitched and jumped then steadied. It was like the Skins game version of Between Two Ferns. In that way it was almost endearingly bad. I kind of liked how unslick it was. Full disclosure: I nodded off after the first nine. In that time the golf itself was a long way from spectacular and the conversations the mics did pick up were a long way from interesting. But there were some high points, including a goofy moment where each guy got paired with a rugby legend and they played a two-man scramble. The rugby players themselves seemed genuinely thrilled to be there and there was a funny scene when Matsuyama drained a long putt and his hulking partner jumped into his arms in celebration. Matsuyama caught him and it looked like he might slip a disc. Bottom line: It was strange and pretty awful but it also sort of worked.

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• Per Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”Woods’ left knee held up well for half the year, highlighted by his victory at the Masters, but he struggled late in the season and failed to advance to the Tour Championship, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to have the surgery a week earlier than he’d planned.”

• “It got to where it was affecting the way I read putts. You could see it towards the end of the year I wasn’t getting down on my putts well,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been down this road before and I knew the protocols.”

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• “It’s always been that way whenever I’ve had one of these layoffs,” Woods said. “It was nice to get out there and compete. To get back in the flow of things. My range of motion, my strength, is there again. I just have to work my way back and hope I find a feel for the round quickly.”

• “There was a time when long breaks hardly impacted Woods. He’d take weeks off, and come back and win again. He’d show up at Torrey Pines following a lengthy break and perform like he’d been playing and practicing all along.”

• “Physical woes in recent years have made that extremely difficult. The demands that come with being Tiger Woods — father, golf course designer, endorser, foundation head, golfer — add more diversions. And Woods, at 43, is simply at a point where he can’t give his peers such a head start and be competitive.”

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• “Since undergoing surgery on his left knee in August, Woods’ practice has been limited, leaving little for him to focus on beyond this year’s matches in Australia.”

• “It’s been a fun process to be a part of,” Woods said. “I’ve been part of it the last couple years as a vice captain and now having three great vice captains and being able to communicate with all eight guys, who they want on the team and who they think that will fit on the team.”

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