Take it Easy Tiger

In the words of ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend!"

Days after his divorce was made official and his ex-wife made her first public comments about his rampant infidelity and the circus that followed, Tiger Woods golfed like the universe uniting champion he used to be.

His 6-under 65 was his best score since he shot a 62 at last year's BMW Championship. Woods shares the lead at The Barclays, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with Vaughn Taylor. It's the first time he's been in that position since he won the Australian Masters - the last event before his shady Thanksgiving driveway wreck opened the door for details of his secret life to escape.

Woods found 13 of 14 fairways Thursday, hit 15 of 18 greens and needed only 27 putts.

"It's exciting to hit the ball flush like this again," Woods said. "It's something I've been missing all year. I haven't hit it flush. And it felt good to hit the ball and shape it both ways and really hit it through the wind. I've hit so many shots this week, not this week but this year, that haven't been hit flush enough to get through the wind. But today I was doing it all day."

Considering the timing of this stellar round, observers will say Woods is ready to return to form now that a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. But Tiger has shown flashes of his former brilliance before.

The world's best overreaction to a few good golf shots happened at the PGA Championship, when Woods fast start (3-under after 4 holes) prompted one of the gentlemen anchoring PGA.com's marquee group coverge to say that the world's No. 1 golfer had discovered a new confidence within his soul. That comment might not be verbatim, but trust me it was the most ridiculous line uttered after a player had completed only four holes of a major championship.

For more than a decade, Woods made his mark in the majors. But he was also remarkably consistent, surging to the top of the leaderboard in nearly every event he played while his peers experienced wild fluctuations of success.

This is one round, but the 24-hour media news cycle dictates that the outlook on Tiger Woods' career and his chances of breaking Jack Nicklaus' career record of 18 major championship will change every time he takes the club back.

"It's good to see him back up top," said Taylor.

Let's leave it at that. It's nice to see Tiger look like the golfer who appeared pre-destined to become the game's ultimate champion. If Woods shoots 76 on Friday, rest assured that the sky will be falling.