Woods turns to golf design while his back heals
RIDGEDALE, Mo. — Tiger Woods has never been one to back away from a little friendly competition.
So when 10-year-old Hudson Feuerbacher challenged him to a closest to the pin contest on Tuesday morning, Woods wasn’t about to refuse.
Even as he continues to battle back issues that have limited him to just two tournaments during the past calendar year, Woods managed to take two shots on what will be the 19th hole of his latest golf project, Payne’s Valley, a championship layout that will be part of the Big Cedar Lodge courses owned by Bass Pro Shop founder and CEO Johnny Morris.
With media in attendance from as far away as Hong Kong, Woods came up slightly short on his first attempt with a sand wedge, with his shot leaking into a hazard. But with what he proclaimed was his mulligan, Woods stuck the next shot pin high to about six feet from the flag on the temporary green of what will be a picturesque “bonus” hole at Payne’s Valley.
During a news conference to reveal the project that will honour his late friend — and Missouri native — Payne Stewart, Woods took part in a question-and-answer session with fellow golfer Tom Lehman serving as the moderator.
Naturally, one of those queries was about his health, which remains a hot topic after he was forced to pull out of The Masters earlier this month.
“The back is progressing. The first shot was crap, I hit into the water. The second shot, I stiffed it,” said Woods. “I have good days and bad days. I’ve had three back operations and that’s just kind of the nature of the business, unfortunately. That’s all I can say.”
Woods wasn’t in Ozark Mountain Country to announce his return to playing competitive golf, though he did speak openly about his desire to play on the Champions Tour when he reaches the age of 50, which caught the attention of several folks in attendance.
“It’s just around the corner now,” said Woods, 41.
It’s clear Woods hasn’t lost his love for golf and he’s been getting more involved with course architecture through his firm, TGR Design, as he works on getting healthy.
Morris, who also owns Big Cedar Lodge, a 4,600-acre retreat just south of Branson, Mo., on the shores of Table Rock Lake which offers fishing, shooting, boating, hiking and golf among its numerous outdoor activities. The relationship between the two men spans roughly 20 years, when Woods purchased a Bass Tracker boat from Morris just after winning the 1997 Masters.
Morris personally delivered the boat and then spent an afternoon fishing together with Woods.
“It really made an impression on me, back those many years ago,” said Morris, a noted conservationist from Springfield, Missouri. “Here was this young man, on his way to stardom. Had the good fortune of what he had achieved, but he had a lot of spotlight. It really impressed me what a down-to-earth fellow he was..”
The Payne’s Valley course is scheduled to open in 2019. It’s the first public golf course Woods has worked on.