The idea of returning to the PGA Tour crossed the mind of Tiger Woods long before this week’s Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
But Woods, a five-time event winner, put his safety first. He wanted to wait and see how the first five tournaments were played out during the coronavirus pandemic before committing to the Memorial via Twitter on July 9.
“I felt it was better to stay home and be safe,” Woods said Tuesday. “I am used to playing with many people around me or with many people who have a direct line with me, and that not only endangers myself, but my friends and family, and I have simply been at home practicing and distancing myself and being social away from a lot of people. Going back and playing the tour, in my case during the 20-something years I’ve been here, that’s really difficult to say, that I’m used to having so many people around me or even touch me, spend from the green to the tee. That’s something I looked at and said, well, I’m really not entirely comfortable with that, with that idea. “
The Memorial will be Woods’ first touring event since February 16, when he played in the final round of the Genesis Invitational, shot 77 and was the last of those to make the cut. Woods teamed up with former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning to play Phil Mickelson and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady in a charity game in late May to raise funds for the coronavirus relief.
One of the biggest differences Woods will see when he faces Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka in the first two rounds is that there will be no fans at the tournament this week. In early June it was announced that fans would be allowed in the tournament, but then officials announced that they would no longer be allowed to attend due to the increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
No player on the tour has a larger following than Woods, who is a 15-time major champion. But like everyone else on the tour, Woods will have to adapt to the change. Players have described the scene to him as a very different world.
“It is going to be different, there is no question about it,” Woods said. “For most of my career, almost every competitive game round I’ve been involved in, I’ve had people around me, spectators yelling, a lot of movement inside the gallery with camera and media crews.”
The Zozo Championship, which he won in October; the Farmers Insurance Open, in which he tied for the ninth in January; and Genesis, where he finished 67th, are the only three tournaments Woods has played this season.
Woods is 41st in the FedEx Cup standings and 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Woods said he had a stiff back when he played for Genesis in California. But the long layoff has helped him improve his health. He played a practice round with Justin Thomas on Tuesday.
“I feel much better than I did then,” Woods said. “I was able to train and focus on getting back to tournament speed and speed, so how I was moving in ‘The Match’ and I was able to progress since then, being here today and being able to play with JT today, it was a lot of fun for both of us “
Woods was asked about his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement and his reaction to the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes on May 25.
“I think change is fantastic as long as we make changes without hurting the innocent, and unfortunately that has happened. Hopefully it will not happen in the future, but a move and a change are fantastic,” said Woods. “This is how society develops. This is how we grow. This is how we move forward. This is how we are fair. Unfortunately, we have lost innocent lives along the way and we hope to lose no more in the future as we move forward. better socially. “
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