Tiger Woods sends a warning to every PGA Tour competitor
He hasn’t won a major in nearly 10 years or even an official PGA Tour event in four and a half years, but Tiger Woods is no less confident as he approaches his second tournament of the season.
Woods will tee it up Thursday at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, and he’s been paired with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds.
McIlroy and Thomas have combined to win three of the last six PGA Championships and both have friendly relationships with Woods. But Woods will have no interest in chatting it up with the two youngsters and he will be all business come Thursday.
During a press conference Tuesday, Woods was asked how some of the younger stars on tour might react if Woods were to give them the cold shoulder while playing with him.
“I don’t care how they’d react,” Woods said with a chuckle. “I’m trying to win a tournament. I’m sure they feel the same way but, hey, it’s winning time.”
Woods definitely hasn’t lost his competitive fire, but it remains to be seen if he can still hang with two players in the top 10 of the world golf rankings.
A lack of confidence has never been a problem for Woods, but in recent years, he’s lacked the physical ability to play at a championship level. He’s had four surgical procedures on his back since 2014.
Woods competed at the Farmers Insurance Open last month, his first full-field Tour event in a full year, and finished in a tie for 23rd. It is an event he had won seven times in his career, but this year he was hoping to simply make the cut.
He made the cut, and although he finished seven strokes behind the winner, Jason Day, his solid play was the biggest story to come out of the tournament.
Woods has 79 wins on the PGA Tour, but none of them have come at Riviera. He played in his first PGA event on the course in 1992 as a 16-year-old amateur.
“[In] 1992, I received a sponsor’s exemption and didn’t play that badly, shooting 72-75,” Woods wrote on his blog. “Maybe I could have made up a couple more shots per round, but I felt pretty good about it.
“Then I looked at the scoreboard and I’m 17 strokes behind Davis Love III. It was eye-opening knowing that I was really not that good. I thought I could play the game, but obviously I wasn’t worth a lick compared to these guys and had a long way to go.”
McIlroy admits that he grew up a Tiger Woods fan and wass a little bit in awe when he first teed up alongside his hero.
“I’ve been a Tiger fan for the last 20 years,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “I remember meeting him for the first time, and then I remember playing with him for the first time. It is funny because I remember all the big moments that he’s had, and you’re teeing up alongside that guy. That was eight, nine years ago, so I’ve sort of got used to it by now. But still, whenever you get a chance to play alongside one of your heroes, it’s always nice.”
Along with getting used to playing with his hero, McIlroy also had to get used to the Tiger Effect. Whenever Woods is on a golf course, he is always the center of attention and attracts the biggest gallery.
“There’s a lot of movement around,” McIlroy said. “You just try and get the honor [to play first off the tee] as quick as you can and try to keep it so not everyone’s moving when you’re [swinging]. But it’s fine. It’s good fun. I would rather be in this group than not.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
