Woods admits age affecting game
Tiger Woods has acknowledged age is increasingly affecting his game but said on Tuesday he was in a good place as he bids for a record-breaking 83rd PGA Tour victory in Torrey Pines this week.
The American, who makes his season debut at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Thursday, said he was blessed to be competing after back injuries threatened to end his storied career.
“When I was younger, I had more good days than bad,” Woods told reporters on a cloudy day at the oceanside course. “Now that I’m 44, I feel more bad days than I do good days. I think all of you who are my age or older can relate to that,” he said with a smile.
“That’s the hardest part of being an older athlete.”
• Tiger won’t have to wait until he’s 50 to enter the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame announced changes to the criteria and the selection process, starting with the age limit being reduced from 50 to 45. Players become eligible if they are 45 in the year of the induction ceremony.
The next induction is in 2021. Woods turns 45 in January.
The Hall of Fame originally had an age limit of 40, which is why Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson were inducted years ago. It later was moved to 50. T
Baseball
PEDROIA HAS SETBACK DURING KNEE REHAB » Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had what the team called a “significant setback” while rehabbing his left knee, the latest blow to the four-time AllStar’s attempt to return to the field.
Boston spokesman Kevin Gregg confirmed the development, which was first reported by The Boston Globe. The 2008 American League MVP, the 36-year-old has been struggling since Baltimore’s Manny Machado slid into the surgically repaired knee at second base on April 21, 2017. Pedroia had surgery that Oct. 25, followed by a procedure to remove scar tissue the following July 20. He had another operation last Aug. 6 to remove bone spurs and preserve the knee joint.
A four-time All-Star, Pedroia has been limited to nine games over the past two seasons, three in May 2018 and six last April.
College football
OREGON HIRES FORMER MISSISSIPPI STATE COACH MOORHEAD AS OC » Former Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead is Oregon’s new offensive coordinator. Moorhead, 46, replaces Marcus Arroyo, who left Oregon to become the head coach at UNLV.
Mississippi State dismissed Moorhead earlier this month after two seasons and hired Washington State coach Mike Leach to replace him. The Bulldogs went 6-7 this season, finishing with a loss to Louisville in the Music City Bowl.
Soccer
MEXICAN GOAL-SCORING STAR CHICHARITO SIGNS WITH LA GALAXY » The LA Galaxy signed Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, bringing the Mexican star back to North America after a lengthy career in Europe.
The Galaxy announced the deal Tuesday for Hernández. The striker will participate in his first training session Thursday.
Hernández is a designated player for the Galaxy and the effective replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 31-year-old Hernández is the top goal-scorer in the history of the Mexican national team. His arrival in Major League Soccer also is a boon for the league in its attempts to compete with Liga MX, Mexico’s top professional division and the most-watched pro league in the U.S.