Tiger Woods, the 15-time Major and 82-time winner on the PGA Tour, turned 48 years-old at the end of 2023.
Following his withdrawal from the recent Genesis Invitational last week for ‘flu-like symptoms’ on the PGA Tour the question everyone is asking is – ‘When will we see Tiger play next?’
Tiger has played in just five Official PGA Tour events since his February, 2021 car crash and currently stands 896 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
At the last count he has had fused ankle operations as well as five knee surgeries and five back surgeries throughout his career.
It is impressive that he still even playing golf – at whatever level.
He played in the HERO World Challenge in December – where he admitted to being ‘rusty’ – but so he should be. He then played in the PNC Championship at the very end of the year with his son Charlie.
He was quoted as saying that his preferred schedule for 2024 would be to play tournament golf once a month.
“I think I can get into the rhythm of it,” Tiger said. “I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there’s no reason why I can’t get into that rhythm. It’s just a matter of getting in better shape.”
The Majors will always be on Tiger’s schedule – but in 2024 he is not exempt for the US Open – as his five year exemption through winning The 2019 Masters ran out in 2023.
There are precedents for special invites that historically have been handed out by the US Open organisers – and it would be strange indeed if Tiger wants to play in the 2024 US Open, he will not receive such a privilege.
It would be interesting to get into the mind of Tiger to see what still drives him to play on the golf course in tournament golf. What are his expectations and targets?
He has played competitive golf for almost 40 years – he knows almost nothing else and for so much of that time – he dominated the golfing world.
Tiger still moves the needle when he enters an event – there is always that special buzz for the fans on the ground, media, TV and sponsors as well as the entire golfing world. It is still a ‘must watch.’
Does Tiger still believe he can win Majors, PGA Tour events, or does he just want to be competitive?
He has been written off so many times with health issues and so much more – but he has done the impossible before – in fact many times – especially winning The 2019 Masters.
Perhaps The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass 14th – 17th March, 2024 is his next event prior to The Masters. He is a two-time champion after all.
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We all wish Tiger good health and look forward to seeing him tee it up again in competitive golf.
We all read and hear stories of his pre-golf preparation and post-golf recovery to just get him to the first tee etc.
The game of golf is now very much a young man’s game – let’s hope there is still room for a relevant Tiger – whatever that means