Tiger Woods says game not where it needs to be
Tiger Woods’ back is fine. His game is not. In a stunning announcement Monday, Woods put on hold his highly anticipated comeback by withdrawing from the Safeway Open, where he was set to play competitive golf for the first time in 14 months as the PGA Tour’s 2016-17 season begins on Thursday.
The withdrawal comes three days after he committed to the event. Woods also announced he has withdrawn from the Turkish Airlines Open November 3-6.
“After a lot of soul searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour or compete in Turkey,” Woods wrote on his website. “My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be.”
Woods, who was scheduled to play with Phil Mickelson and defending champion Emiliano Grillo the first two rounds and with NBA star Stephen Curry in the pro-am, has not played since August 2015, when he tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship. The 14-time major winner had a second microdiscectomy on his back a month later and another procedure on his back a month after that.
Woods felt all systems were a go and his competitive fire was lit earlier this month when he was an assistant captain for the victorious US Ryder Cup team in Minnesota. But his subsequent practice told him otherwise.
“When I announced last week I was going to Safeway, I had every intention of playing, or I wouldn’t have committed,” wrote Woods, the former world No. 1 for a record 623 weeks who has fallen to No. 786. “I spent a week with the US Ryder Cup team, an honor and experience that inspired me even more to play. I practiced the last several days in California, but after a lot of hours, I knew I wasn’t ready to compete against the best golfers in the world.”
Longtime friend Notah Begay talked with Woods Monday morning.
“This is not at all health-related,” said Begay, a former PGA Tour player and present golf analyst for NBC and Golf Channel. “He said, ‘It’s just not there, man.’ When a player tells you that, he’s just not comfortable with every element of his game.”
Begay said Woods had just progressed to hitting drivers six weeks ago and for the last month had been “trying to cram everything in.” Begay said Woods lost a week of practice time to the Ryder Cup and a few days due to Hurricane Matthew.
“It’s understandable that he doesn’t feel he’s ready,” Begay said. “His spirits are fine. He’s just upset with letting down the fans, the sponsors, the tournaments. But with regard to how things are coming along, he’s feeling good. It’s not a physical issue at all. A player gets down when they are hurt. He’s not hurt. His next hurdle will be to play more practice rounds, walk more practice rounds, put in more work.”
Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said Woods was extremely disappointed in having to withdraw.
“He was really looking forward to competing, to playing, to being in the locker room again,” Steinberg said. “He really missed being in the locker room. At the Ryder Cup he was in the locker room and he felt great being in there. He was ready to go. But when he ramped it up the past few days, hole by hole he realized his game was just not responding in the way he wanted it to.”
Woods said he will continue to work hard on his game and plans to play in the Hero World Challenge December 1-4 in the Bahamas. The tournament benefits his foundation.
Woods’ withdrawal was a blow to the Safeway Open. Tickets sales were up 30,000 over last year. Safeway tournament host and NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller said the news was disappointing considering the attention the tournament had received.
“Obviously I wish Tiger the best. Everybody was so excited in the golf world and here in Northern California,” Miller told Golf Channel. “I know there is a lot of pressure on Tiger after 14 months in being away from professional golf. The expectation and nervous level has got to be almost like when he played in his first LA Open when he was a kid.
“It is hard being Tiger Woods. It really is. Especially if he can’t back it up with semblance of the old Tiger Woods. And everybody expects him to come back and play like he did in the year 2000. That is just not going to happen. He has got to break the ice sometime. I hope he picks the right spot.”