13 March 2024 , 11:35
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PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has offered an insight into the future of Tiger Woods on the tour, and discussed when he will return from his injury woes.
The golf legend has been blighted by injury in recent years, including severe leg and ankle injuries sustained in a life-threatening car crash in February 2021. As a result, he has appeared in just eight tournaments in the three years since the horrifying accident and his world ranking is now down at 921.
Therefore, he is unable to compete in certain events, which prompted a reporter to ask Monahan if he would introduce a special category to allow past champions such as Woods to participate. Ahead of the Players Championship, set to begin on Thursday, the 53-year-old said: “I think you all know Tiger well enough to know that he wants to earn his way into every competition. That's his makeup.
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“But I think as you go forward, as you evolve as an organization, you think about how do you serve and satisfy a rabid fan base? Those discussions, more broadly, would likely be held at the policy board meeting. And I'm sure we would have that discussion. But he'd be the hardest one to convince."
The golf icon last played at the Genesis Open in February but he was forced to withdraw due to illness in the second round. It was initially feared he had suffered a recurrence of one of his injuries, but he quickly declared it was simply illness. “I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to illness, which we now know is influenza,” he posted. “I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support.”
Woods, a former winner at TPC Sawgrass, will not be competing in the 2024 edition of the event and has not participated since 2019. With The Masters just a month away, many thought that the 15-time major winner would play at the 50th edition of the Players Championship in order to prepare for Augusta. In December, the two-time Players Championship winner previously stated his desire to play at least one tournament a month.
Woods has played just eight tournaments since his car crash in February 2021 (AP)His withdrawal from the tournament was even more surprising given the above comments and his decision to not play this month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, which was won by Scottie Scheffler. Towards the end of 2023, Woods outlined his desire to play in the majors and occasional big events on the PGA Tour, and even mentioned the Players Championship.
“I think that the best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month. I think that's realistic,” the former World No. 1 said. "You would have to start with maybe at Genesis and then something in March near the Players.
"Again, we have it set up right now the biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that. Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction." Woods' next chance to play competitively before The Masters would be at the Valspar Championship, which commences on March 21 at Flordia’s Copperhead Course.