Tiger Woods commits to playing at St. Andrews in July
Its been a long road to recovery for the legendary golfer, but it would appear that he has no intentions of giving up just yet.
Following a less than ideal showing at the Masters, attention quickly turned to where and when Tiger Woods would play next. The man himself gave a direct answer to that question.
Tiger Woods targets St. Andrews after Masters disappointment
At 78-78 on Sunday, Tiger Woods capped off his worst ever finish at the 2022 Masters. That, however, did not stop Woods from finally addressing the question that the entire golf world has been hoping to have answered. Will Tiger Woods - the biggest name in the sport - be playing at the 150th Open Championship when it returns to the fabled course at St. Andrews in July? Never one to shy away, Woods answered directly and stated that he would in fact be committing to The Open as he intends to play at least one more major this year. Woods would not, however, be drawn on the details of his future schedule, but did admit that he was going to try his best to play in as many events as he can.
“I won’t be playing a full schedule ever again,” Woods said. “It’ll be just the big events. I don’t know if I’ll play [the PGA Championship] at Southern Hills or not. But I am looking forward to St. Andrews. That’s something that’s very near and dear to my heart. I’ve won two Opens there. It’s the home of golf. It’s my favorite golf course in the world. So, I will be there for that one. Anything in between that, I don’t know, I will try. There’s no doubt - I will try to get ready for Southern Hills, and we’ll see what this body is able to do.”
What next for Tiger Woods?
With Woods’ admission of his uncertainty about the PGA Championship - scheduled for May 19th at Southern Hills - along with the fact that he made no mention of the U.S. Open, which takes place on June 16th, it would seem that he may not play at the two events which have given him seven of his 15 major championships between them.
Will Tiger play again between now and July? That is really a question for his body to answer. In visible discomfort during the Masters, Woods must be commended for not only making it through four brutal rounds, but making the weekend cut itself. Remember this is a man who was playing in his first PGA Tour almost two years, having recovered from both injuries and the ailments he suffered as a result of a horrific car crash back in February of 2021. Indeed, that crash resulted in extensive trauma to his leg. Many would of course have noted that by end of play on Sunday, Woods was visibly limping and even began to use one of his clubs as a cane. “I don’t feel as good as I’d like to feel,” Woods had said on Friday, adding that pain and soreness going forward were now simply a part of life. “I can swing a golf club. The walking’s not easy, and it’s difficult,” he said. “As I said with all the hard work, my leg, it’s going to be difficult for the rest of my life. That’s just the way it is, but I’m able to do it.”