Tiger’s next treks include ‘ The Match,’ Hero Challenge
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Tiger Woods hasn’t won a Ryder Cup match since 2010, and he lost all four over the weekend at Le Golf National.
With his 21st loss, he’s in second place for most losses by an American in the competition, one behind Phil Mickelson and one ahead of this year’s captain, Jim Furyk. None of his matches here made it to the 18th hole.
Yet believe it or not, he’s heading back to the United States with some serious momentum. He won for the first time in five years at the Tour Championship just last week. He finished in the top 10 seven times, including a tie for sixth in the British Open and a runner-up finish in the PGA Championship.
The 2018-19 PGA Tour season tees off Thursday with the Safeway Open in Napa, California. Woods isn’t playing, but he will tee it up at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, slated for Nov. 29-Dec. 2, the week after his highly anticipated $9 million match against Phil Mickelson in Las Vegas.
Woods played in 18 PGA Tour events this season, plus the Ryder Cup, which made it seven tournaments in the last nine weeks. After the U.S. lost the Ryder Cup Sunday, Woods said he would “have a better understanding of what (his) training needs to be for next year” so he can endure an entire season. With past injuries being a non-factor all year, it’s safe to assume he’ll be back for plenty more events.
“The Match,” as it’s been dubbed, will take place over Thanksgiving weekend and will be shown on B/R Live and DirecTV.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of money,” Mickelson told Golf.com. “No matter how much money you have, this amount will take both of us out of our comfort zone.”
Woods hasn’t confirmed he’ll play in any Tour events quite yet, but injury aside you can pencil him in for all four majors. Not only should fans expect him to play, they should expect him to win.
The Masters will be played at Augusta National in April. The next month, the PGA Championship in its new slot will head to Bethpage in New York. The U.S. Open will be held at Pebble Beach in June, followed by the British Open in July at Royal Portrush.
Seven of Woods’ 80 PGA Tour wins were at those courses, including six of 14 major championships: The Masters in
1997, 2001, 2002, 2005; the U.S. Open in
2000 at Pebble Beach and in 2002 at Bethpage. He also won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2000.
So while the Ryder Cup might not have gone the way he wanted, Woods has plenty of great golf to look forward to.