4 FOR TIGER
Woods sets up taxing slate for early 2017
KAPALUA, Hawaii — After playing one tournament in 15 months, Tiger Woods feels good enough to schedule four events in five weeks that cover opposite sides of the United States and the world.
Woods filled out the rest of his early schedule Thursday by saying he would return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
He had not played since August 2015 while recovering from two back surgeries before returning last month in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge. Woods made 24 birdies in 72 holes, but he finished 15th in a 17man field.
“I am working hard to sharpen my game for 2017, and my goal is simple: to win,” Woods said in a blog on his website.
Woods will make his 2017 debut at Torrey Pines on Jan. 26-29 before crossing 12 time zones to play in Dubai. After a week off, he will return to California for the Genesis Open at Riviera, and the following week will head to Florida for the Honda Classic.
The last time the 41-yearold Woods played four times in five weeks was early in 2013 — the Match Play in Arizona, followed by three of the four tournaments that made up the Florida swing.
What pleased him about his return at the Bahamas, beyond his 24 birdies, was his health.
“The only doubt I had was the physicality of the round — the length and duration — because I hadn’t been able to practice or play much golf,” Woods said.
Woods said he and his two children were hit with a virus before Thanksgiving, and he ran out of energy toward the end of the tournament. He attributed some of the energy loss to being the host of the Hero World Challenge and having other functions to attend.
“I know many people doubted whether I would play competitive golf again, and to be honest, even I wasn’t sure,” Woods said. “My love for the game never left. It’s just that the body would not allow me to play. Now my body is allowing me to do it again.”
Woods got in one highprofile round after the Ba- hamas. He played with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump International in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“What most impressed me was how far he hits the ball at 70 years old,” Woods said. “He takes a pretty good lash.”
Woods said they didn’t have a match, covered a variety of topics and “enjoyed the bantering, bickering and needling.”
Woods said he still was testing equipment because Nike announced last year it will no longer be making clubs and golf balls. Woods recently signed a deal with Bridgestone Golf to play its ball, noting that Bridgestone once make the Nike golf ball he has used since 2000. He said he likely would keep using his Nike irons and his old Scotty Cameron putter.
Woods, whose 79 PGA Tour victories are three short of the career mark set by Sam Snead, is an eight-time winner at Torrey Pines (including the 2008 U.S. Open). He last played there in 2014 when he missed the 54-hole cut. A week later in Dubai, where he had won twice, Woods tied for 41st. That year was the start of back trouble that led to the first of his three surgeries and caused him to miss the Masters for the first time.