No Players Championship for Tiger Woods, So What's Next?
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A start at the Players Championship was never a given for Tiger Woods. In fact, even after a successful return at the Genesis Invitational two weeks ago, the idea of him returning after just two weeks off still appeared remote.
The problem is the two-week down period. It’s probably just not enough, especially when you consider that in addition to his foot and ankle issues, Woods still has a fused back to deal with and that is going to present problems at times as well.
So it’s quite possible that after the usual recovery time from playing a tournament—this one included an 18-hole program prior to playing the 72-hole event—Woods still didn’t feel comfortable that there would be enough time to get ready for the Players Championship.
For him, it’s disappointing in a couple of ways. The TPC Sawgrass Stadium course is one he knows, and one that wouldn’t have required extra prep time. There is no pro-am, so he could have practiced on-site as little or as much as he wanted. He could have perhaps used his major championship approach of a couple of nine-hole practice rounds and a day of just hitting balls prior to the tournament. And it’s a flat golf course with warm temperatures.
The fact he did not want to do that or could not do that should put the brakes on any talk about him fitting in other events between the majors going forward. Unless Woods shows significant improvement, he’s faced with tough turnarounds every time.
The Wells Fargo Championship makes sense, but it’s just two weeks prior to the PGA Championship. The Memorial is a place he’d love to return, but it’s just two weeks after the PGA and only two weeks prior to the U.S. Open. Perhaps the Wells Fargo becomes more of a possibility if Woods decides not to play the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., where he’s not played great in two previous appearances and where he again risks poor weather. And yet, playing the majors seems a bigger goal.
So now what?
It seems unlikely that Woods would add next week’s Valspar Championship, although he finished second there in 2018. It’s a good course for him as it does not require a lot of drivers, forces players to work different shots and is close to home. Getting in another tournament before the Masters seems important to his ability to compete, but therein lies another problem: there would be just two full weeks off after the Valspar prior to the Masters week.
What is more likely is that Woods takes a pre-tournament week visit to Augusta National as he did last year. Perhaps he wants to check out the new 13th tee in advance and get in some work trying to hit draws at some of the important places he’ll need to do that.
It’s a shame he is not able to work on some of those shots this week. And yet, it’s also understandable.