Woods ‘OK’ if he’s not the same
Throughout much of his long and illustrious career, Tiger Woods has been just as adept at not revealing much to the public — while availing himself to more media questions than any golfer in history — as he has been sinking must-make putts.
His business, especially his personal business, is his business. Even if he knows the probing will never pause given his fame. Nothing has changed. Woods spoke publicly Tuesday for the first time since his horrific car crash in February. He said some revealing things at a news conference for the Hero World Challenge, which he hosts. But he was tightlipped about the single-car crash that wrecked his leg and could have taken his life.
“All of those answers have been answered in the investigation, so you can read about all of that there, in the police report,” he said coldly when asked what he remembered about the incident.
Except that there isn’t much of anything in that report.
Woods may never again wield a golf club as well as he once did but he’s still an elite ducker and dodger on the dais.
He knew that query would come and he had a canned response ready. He later said he has never experienced any flashbacks about the crash. “Very lucky in that way,” he said.
If the reporters present thought Woods might let his guard down given what he has endured, they were wrong. Tiger has always dictated these things. Always will.
Now to the sexy sound bites. When asked if amputation of his right leg was seriously considered in the aftermath of the crash, Woods confirmed it was “on the table.”
When asked about his damaged limb, Woods said, “I don’t foresee this leg ever being what it used to be.”
When asked about a potential return to the PGA Tour — a circuit he fully endorsed when the subject of rival golf tours surfaced — Woods said he doesn’t have the “desire to grind away” to play regularly.
What he foresees for himself if and when his leg and body are strong enough to walk 72 holes is a part-time gig. Even more part-time than it used to be.
In a “Golf Digest” video interview released Monday, Woods cited Ben Hogan as a template. Hogan never played more than seven events in a season after returning from a 1949 car crash that left him with serious injuries. Hogan won six majors playing such a schedule, though he was eight years younger than Woods is now when he returned to golf. And he hadn’t endured five back surgeries and five knee surgeries before his crash, like Woods.
But even if Woods is never able to compete at a high level again, and he expressed skepticism that he could, the 15-time major champion claimed he was OK with that. He spoke of his progression when he finally returned to action in 2018 after spinal fusion surgery, a procedure that came with zero guarantees.
The way he went from making a swing to discovering speed power. The way he started scoring in the mid-60s at home “without even trying.” The way he performed well in the Hero in December, contended at the Valspar Championship in March, took the Sunday lead in the Open Championship in July, finished strongly at the PGA Championship in August, won the limitedfield Tour Championship in September, and then triumphed at the Masters the following April.
“I don’t see that type of trend going forward for me,” Woods said. “I won’t have the opportunity to practise given the condition of my leg. And the buildup. I just don’t. It’ll have to be a different way of doing it and that’s OK and I’m at peace with that. I’ve made the climb enough times.”
He wants to be out there, however. As he’s aged, Woods has grown to enjoy the camaraderie of the tour more than he ever did in his heyday. He’s closer with players 20 years his junior than he was with his contemporaries, many of whom he treated with disdain. He said he misses the jabbing and the needling, something he’s spoke of often during his times away.
He essentially misses being one of the boys. But can he beat them again? Playing sparingly in select events such as the majors and those on courses where he’s thrived in the past, like Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Muirfield Village for Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial? He said it’s unlikely and joked that he’s more apt to win the par-3 tournament at the Masters than the green jacket itself. He joked about looking forward to the PGA Tour Champions in four years’ time when he can play riding a cart. And about heeding the USGA’s recommendation to tee it forward.
But, as always with Woods, we must leave room for coyness. He has said repeatedly throughout his career that he will never enter a tournament if he doesn’t think he can win. So when we do see him in action again, know that deep down he’s there because he truly believes there’s a chance he leaves with the trophy.
“Maybe one day (the leg) will be good enough to where I can get out here and compete against the best players in the world again,” Woods said.
Oh, he will. Probably sooner than we all think, too.
I don’t foresee this leg ever being what it used to be.
TIGER WOODS