Tiger Woods painted an uncertain picture about how much golf he can play, saying Tuesday that “I don’t have much left in this leg.”
He also doesn’t have much hope the PGA Tour
and the Saudi-funded rival league can get along unless Greg Norman is out as
LIV Golf’s leader.
“Not right now. Not with their leadership.
Not with Greg there and his animosity toward the tour itself,” Woods said. “I
don’t see that happening.”
Rory McIlroy also said in Dubai two weeks
ago that Norman needs to “exit stage left” before there can be any meaningful
discussions between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Woods artfully skirted around other
questions on Tuesday, such as details on two unexpected surgeries he had last
year and whether the 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge should be getting
points toward the world ranking.
He was forceful on the effect of LIV Golf,
referring to friction the rival league has caused and how lawsuits stand in the
way of any reconciliation.
“If one side has so much animosity —
someone trying to destroy our tour — then how do we work with that?” Woods
said.
Phil Mickelson was among 10 players who
filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in August, a lawsuit since
taken over by LIV Golf. Bryson DeChambeau, Peter Uihlein and Matt Jones are the
only players still involved as plaintiffs. The PGA Tour since has filed a
countersuit. A trial date is tentatively scheduled for January 2024.
Woods said the lawsuits would have to be
settled — he used the word “stay” on more than one occasion — or there is no
way forward.
Woods is at Albany Golf Club strictly as
the tournament host. He had to withdraw on Monday because of plantar fasciitis
in his right foot that makes it too difficult to walk over 72 holes, even on a
relatively flat course for a holiday event.
Woods said he was posting low scores at
home in Florida while riding in a cart. And his next two events — a made-for-TV
match over 12 holes on Dec. 10, and the PNC Championship with his son the
following weekend — allow for carts.
“I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever
shot you want,” he said. “I just can’t walk.”
He said the plantar fasciitis was related
to injuries he suffered in the Los Angeles car crash in February 2021, which
ended any hope of him playing on a regular basis.
A year ago, Woods was just starting to take
full swings with the driver and his ambition was to make it to St. Andrews for
the 150th edition of the British Open. He wound up playing the Masters and the
PGA Championship, too.
That amounted to nine rounds — four at
Augusta National, three at the PGA Championship (he withdrew after the third round)
and two at St. Andrews.
Woods felt he was making progress in the
months after the British Open, only to hurt his right foot while trying to
prepare for a 72-hole event in the Bahamas.
“When you get plantar fasciitis, the worst
thing you can do is walk, and I was walking more and more and more, trying to
get my legs ready for this event, and I just kept making it worse,” he said.
“So had to shut it down.”
He said he would take a month or two to
rest, which won’t affect his golf schedule because he wasn’t going to play that
much, anyway.
This has been coming. Woods turns 47 on
Dec. 30, and he has had roughly as many surgeries as majors he was won (15).
“The goal is to play just the major
championships and maybe one or two more. That’s it. Physically, that’s all I
can do. I told you that (at) the beginning of this year, too,” he said.
“I mean, I don’t have much left in this
leg, so gear up for the biggest ones and hopefully, 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.”
He said he did everything to prepare for
St. Andrews, only for his leg to act up on him and lead to an early departure
packed with emotion. Woods does not anticipate returning to another Open at St.
Andrews.
His health wasn’t great that week beyond
his leg, though it wasn’t COVID-19.
McIlroy, in a wide-ranging interview with
the Sunday Independent in Ireland, said he and Woods played a practice round at
Ballybunion on the Thursday before the British Open and McIlroy was feeling ill
afterward.
He said sweat was pouring off him and his
temperature spiked. McIlroy called Woods, who reported he was feeling fine. But
then Woods texted him that night and said he had chills and a fever.
“And I’m like, ‘(Expletive), I’ve just
given Tiger COVID!’ This is horrendous!’” McIlroy said. “So we both had COVID
going into the Open.”
Woods said he tested for the coronavirus
and it came back negative.
“Was I feeling under the weather? Yes,
wasn’t feeling great the whole week,” Woods said. “But I never got a positive
test.”