PARAMUS, N.J. — Parker Rollins had been standing awhile along a rope line at Ridgewood Country Club on Tuesday when his mother, Shirley Rollins, excitedly tapped him on the shoulders. His favorite player, Tiger Woods, was finally heading in their direction.
Parker, 11, stuck his arms over the rope. “Hi, Tiger,” he said. “Welcome to Ridgewood.”
Woods, heading to the third tee of a practice round for the Northern Trust tournament, turned and flashed a grin. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
“Dude!” Shirley Rollins said to her son. “You made him smile!”
Woods has done a lot of that lately, as he charged into contention at two major tournaments over the last month and validated his comeback from four spine operations.