Tiger Woods played all of nine rounds in three majors last year, but the legendary golfer announced on Friday that he is back and “ready to play.”
Woods took to Twitter to tell his 6.6 million followers that he is all in for next week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles.
“I’m ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week @thegenesisinv,” Woods tweeted.
I’m ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week @thegenesisinv
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 10, 2023
The event has special significance for Woods, not just because he is hosting the event, which also benefits his TGR Foundation. But also because this is the same event Woods was in Los Angeles to play in February of 2021 when he suffered severe leg injuries in a car accident.
Those injuries cost Woods tremendously as he struggled to return to form and ultimately failed to qualify for St. Andrews in July, which was the last time competing in a major. The Genesis Invitational is a non-major and the first non-major Woods has competed in since the Zozo Championship.
As ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reports, “[Woods] finished in 47th at the Masters, withdrew from the PGA Championship after the third round, and missed the cut at The Open. Woods also withdrew from the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event he hosted in the Bahamas, in early December because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot.”
While Tiger has played recently, once with his son at the PNC Championship and another time alongside Rory McIlroy on The Match in December, he used a cart for both events.
Tiger Woods of The United States rides a cart with his son Charlie Woods on the third hole during the final round of the 2022 PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 18, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
“It’s been a lot harder than people probably imagine,” Woods explained. “There’s some of the players who are very close to me know what I’ve kind of gone through, and they’re the ones that keep encouraging me to back off a little bit. But that’s not really in my nature. My nature is trying to get better. And I have. And through work ethic, I was able to, as I said, play and compete in three major championships this year.
“And this offseason hasn’t really been an offseason. … As you’ve seen, I can hit golf balls. I can do all that. I can practice at home. I can hit shots around the green. I can do all that. I just can’t get from point A to point B.”
Woods won’t be the only star on the course for the tournament. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, and Xander Schauffele, are expected to play.
Speaking at the Phoenix Open on Thursday, Rahm was thrilled by the news that Woods would be back on the course.
“Any time Tiger can be present on the golf course playing makes the tournament even better,” Rahm said. “So, I’m hoping he can play comfortably and I’m hoping he can play well.”