Tiger won’t play until game ready
Woods needs ‘a lot of work,’ but keeps Honda hope alive.
Tiger Woods said on his website Wednesday that he’s going to take some time away from competitive golf, but did not close the door on playing the Honda Classic later this month.
In his first comments since withdrawing from Torrey Pines last Thursday prior to finishing his first round, Woods said his physical problems at that event were not related to the back surgery he had last March 31.
“I am having daily physical therapy and I am feeling better every day,” he wrote on Tigerwoods.com.
He continued, “Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people who are important to me. My play, and (my) scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf. Like I’ve said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back.”
Woods referenced the Honda Classic, which will take place Feb. 26-March 1 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, and the Medalist Club in Hobe Sound, where he typically plays his practice rounds while staying at his Jupiter Island home, in his next paragraph.
“Next week I will practice at Medalist and at home getting ready for the rest of the year,” he wrote. “I am committed to getting back to the pinnacle of my game. I’d like to play The Honda Classic — it’s a tournament in my hometown and it’s important to me — but I won’t be there unless my game is tournament-ready. That’s not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon.”
Woods has until 5 p.m. on Feb. 20, the entry deadline for the Honda, to make a final decision.
Woods has played the Honda the past three years since moving from the Orlando suburb of Windemere to Jupiter Island. He finished second to Rory McIlroy after shooting a final-round 62 in 2012, failed to break 70 in any round and wound up 37th in 2013, and withdrew on the 13th hole of his final round last year.
He has looked like anything but the old Tiger in the two tournaments he’s played this year, carding an openinground 82 on his way to missing the cut at the Phoenix Open and then walking off the course after 11 holes of his first round last week, telling reporters that he was unable to “activate my glutes” after a fog delay pushed back his starting time by several hours.
As of now, Woods is not eligible to play the WCG-Cadillac Championship at Doral the week after Honda, meaning if he decides to skip Honda, his next appearance likely would be at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on March 12-15. If that’s the case, that could serve as his only tuneup for the Masters in early April, where his status as a four-time champion puts him in the field.
Golf Channel analyst Notah Begay, a close friend and former college teammate of Woods at Stanford, offered his opinion that Woods’ problem right now is not a physical one.
“I don’t think this is an issue of physical limitations,” Begay said. “It’s an issue of trying to get the short game thing worked out.”
Woods’ chipping has been an issue since he returned from a three-and-a-half month layoff in December.