‘I Don’t Have Much Left in This Leg’: Tiger Woods Says Walking Is the Problem
Tiger Woods can hit the golf ball just fine. It’s the walking that gives him problems.
That’s why he isn’t playing in this week’s Hero World Challenge after withdrawing Monday. And it’s why he sees another limited schedule as part of the plan for 2023.
“The goal is to play just the major championships and maybe one or two more; that’s it,” said Woods, who announced Monday he has plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which makes it painful to walk. “Physically that’s all I can do. I don’t have much left in this leg, so gear up for the biggest ones and hopefully, you know, lightning catches in a bottle, and I’m up there in contention with a chance to win and hopefully I remember how to do that.
“But again, giving myself a chance to get out there again. I didn’t expect to play three majors this year. We were hoping for just the British Open, but I was able to get two more in there, so that was a big positive.”
Woods spoke during a news conference Tuesday at Albany Golf Club in advance of this week’s Hero tournament, which benefits his foundation.
Until Monday, he was expected to play the 72-hole event, his first competition since missing the cut at the Open at St. Andrews in July. Woods surprisingly returned at the Masters, where he made the cut and finished tied for 47th. He made the cut at the PGA Championship but withdrew after the third round.
Woods said the plantar fasciitis is related to the right leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car crash. He also said he’s had further procedures on the leg this year, but declined to elaborate or give any time frame for when they were performed.
He also said he saw improvement since July in the right leg before the plantar fasciitis issues arose while preparing for the Hero tournament.
“It’s going to take probably a month or two of rest,” he said. “It was the ramping-up process that did it. It’s a balancing act, right? How hard do you push it to make progress while not pushing it too hard to go off the edge? And you set yourself back two, three days, and that’s been the balancing act the whole year. And trying to do that, get ready for this event, I did a lot of beach walks trying to simulate the sand out here, and my foot just did not like that very much.”
Woods said he still intends to play the 12-hole Match with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas on Dec. 10, as well as the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, on Dec. 17–18. At both events, he can use a golf cart.
“The Father-Son will be a very easy week, Charlie will just hit all the shots, and I’ll just get the putts out of the hole, so pretty easy there,” he quipped.
A winner of 82 PGA Tour titles, including 15 major championships, Woods turns 47 on Dec. 30. He was asked why he continues to fight, despite having nothing to prove.
“I love competing,” he said. “I love the sport. I’ve been playing it for most—well, basically all my life. And you know, actually, I’ve been a pro for more than half my life. So If you look at it in those terms, I’ve been a part of this sport and I’ve loved it.
“It’s just unfortunate I’m not able to do the things that I feel mentally I can do; the body just kind of rejects it. When I was at home, I was shooting 4, 5, 6, 7 under par like it was nothing, but I was in a cart. Now you add in walking, and that goes away. So I need to get to that point where I can actually walk around and play that way, like all of you guys can. I just, I’m not able to do that right now.”