Speculation will now run rampant as to where and when Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf.
We believe there’s a destination for Tiger — St. Andrews and the Old Course.
Tiger wants to be there for the 150th Open Championship and said so Tuesday at his Albany press conference.
“I would love to be able to play that Open Championship (the 150th), there’s no doubt. Physically, hopefully, I can.”
Tiger called St. Andrews “my favorite course in the world.” It should be, he won the Open Championship for the first time there in 2000 as a 24-year-old then won again in 2005.
“The tournament’s not going to go anywhere, but I need to get there,” Woods added.
There are a lot of factors that work in Tiger’s favor as far as The Old Course goes. First, when Tiger addressed his recovery schedule on Tuesday, he was concerned with getting healthy enough to find his distance off the tee. He voiced concern over the length of today’s PGA Tour tournament sites, even Augusta National has gotten really long.
At St. Andrews, Tiger plays a strategic game, often hitting irons off the tees. At St. Andrews, it’s not about length, it’s about the proper line off the tee and Tiger’s shown his uncanny ability to hit it on the proper lines at the Old Course.
Second, the Old Course is flat, very flat when compared to other venues. It’s not a difficult walk and by July, Tiger could be more than healthy enough to handle the walk.
In comparison, Augusta National, with its huge slopes and elevation changes, is a difficult walk for someone coming back after a serious lower leg fracture — Tiger to be exact.
Besides, Tiger himself said it — he WANTS to be there (St. Andrews).
Nine months to get strong enough for Scotland.
Sounds doable.
Tiger Woods Backs PGA Tour Over Saudi Golf League:
Tiger Woods touched on so many subjects Tuesday in Albany, but he was pretty solid in his support for the PGA Tour over the golf league proposed by the Saudis.
“I’ve decided for myself that I’m supporting the PGA Tour, that’s where my legacy is,” Woods said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have won 82 events on this tour and 15 major championships and been a part of the World Golf Championships, the start of them and the end of them. So I have an allegiance to the PGA Tour.”
Woods also referred to the time when many players, including golfing greats Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, grew tired of an uneven distribution of profits and eventually broke away from the PGA of America and started what became the PGA Tour.
“And I understand that some of the comparisons is very similar to when Arnold and Jack broke off from the PGA of America to start the Tour. I don’t see it that way,” said Woods. “I think the Tour has done a fantastic job, (PGA Tour Commissioner) Jay (Monahan) has done an unbelievable job during a very difficult time during the pandemic when there was ample opportunities for players to leave, but we were the first sporting tour to start.”
Woods said the Tour’s future is bright.
“I think the Tour is in great hands, they’re doing fantastic, and prize money’s going up,” he added. “It’s just not guaranteed money like most sports are. It’s just like tennis, you have to go out there and earn it.”
Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy Paired At Hero World Challenge:
Play gets underway Thursday at the Hero World Challenge at Albany and perhaps the most interesting pairing for Thursday’s first round is the 12:22 p.m. pairing of Rory McIlroy and world’s No. 2 Collin Morikawa. It was Morikawa who finished strong down the stretch to win the DP World Tour Championship and McIlroy who imploded over the finishing holes. Morikawa walked away with the Race To Dubai title as well.
The Hero pairings-makers missed the golden opportunity to pair Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka for a real 18-hole challenge. Instead, Brooks is in the next-to-last pairing with Justin Thomas while DeChambeau goes off in the final pairing with Jordan Spieth.
Hero World Television Times:
Thursday: 1:30-4:30 p.m. (ET), Golf Channel
Friday: 1:30-4:30 p.m. j(ET), Golf Channel
Saturday: 12 noon-2:30 p.m., Golf Channel; 2:30-5 p.m. (ET), NBC Sports
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Golf Channel; 1-4 p.m. (ET) NBC Sports
Thursday Starting Times, Pairings:
11:05 a.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton
11:16 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns
11:27 a.m.: Webb Simpson, Daniel Berger
11:38 a.m.: Harris English, Tony Finau
11:49 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer
Noon: Henrik Stenson, Viktor Hovland
12:11 p.m.: Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele
12:22 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy
12:33 p.m.: Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
12:44 p.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth
2 Comments
baxter cepeda
Of course tiger wants to be at st Andrew’s. Who wouldn’t? ….but especially tiger.
But tiger also wants to be at Augusta. Who wouldn’t? ….but especially tiger.
I’m not a doctor – clearly – but considering the progress that’s been made in just 7 months I wonder if tigers injuries 4 months from now won’t be more ready to walk and play ANGC than Brooks was a couple weeks after knee surgery… not that it worked out very well for cupcakes.
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No doubt the ponte vedra boys are breathing a huge sigh of relief today after tigers endorsement over the Saudis.
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It’s too bad tiger didn’t pair cupcakes and BAD together. That would have been awesome.
Tom Edrington
Reporters on site said that Tiger is walking with a pretty significant limb, what no one is taking into consideration is the condition of his back, he was still rehabbing that when he had the accident….Augusta National, no way, period….Open Championship, maybe.