Tiger Woods is back playing in a tournament for the first time since his unfortunate withdrawal from the Genesis Invitational in February. He's looked in good spirits at the start of this week's Masters, and was seen walking the front nine at Augusta National yesterday with only and handful of clubs and a vintage Wilson Staff putter as well as his trusted Scotty Cameron.
After a morning nine holes with friends Justin Thomas and Fred Couples, Tiger headed to the press conference room for a chat with the media. Here's the seven key takeaways we took from the five time champion's Tuesday press conference.
He still really, really loves playing golf
We thought Tiger looked as healthy as ever sat in the media room at Augusta National. Sporting his new Sun Day Red apparel, he spoke well for the 30 mins or so he had with the world's media. When we consider the toll Tiger's body has gone through over the last decade, it's often a wonder why he keeps coming back. He's done everything that can be achieved in the game of golf, he's already a legend of the game, why keep going? His answer gave a perfect insight into the mind of a champion.
"I love golf. I do. I've always loved it. I played other sports growing up, but I just have always loved this sport. I love to compete. And be able to have the love I have for the game and the love for competition be intertwined, I think that's one of the reasons why I've had a successful career. I just love doing the work. I love logging the time in, and I love preparing. I love competing, and I love that feeling when everything's on fire with a chance to win and you either you do or you don't."
It seems that as long as his body has the ability to play, he'll be continuing to compete in some guise for the foreseeable future.
Ryder Cup Captaincy Talks Are Ongoing
With Tiger's playing days in Ryder Cup golf now very much behind him, naturally the talk of him one day captaining Team USA are starting to bubble. When asked about the possibility of him captaining at the next Ryder Cup at Bethpage, he confirmed talks are ongoing but not to expect an announcement any time soon.
"It's something that Seth and I are going to sit back and talk about it after this event. I said I'm going to be busy for a couple weeks, so let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another jacket, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week."
He enjoys his role as a mentor on Tour
After a practice round with Will Zalatoris yesterday - where the young American confessed Tiger outdrove him on a couple of occasions - Tiger was asked about how he enjoys his role as a mentor to some of the younger players on Tour.
"I love watching them succeed. That's part of the game is we pass on the knowledge. We don't keep it. All the players that have come before me, I really didn't really discover anything new, it's the fact that they were able to share a lot that have with me. And then that's what we do; we pass on the knowledge to the next generation. Especially here. This is one of the events that we get a chance to do that just because we're playing on the same venue each and every year, we're able to pass that on. I think the Masters does an incredible job of bringing together the past and the future of the game of golf."
He aims to get back to playing once a month
When Tiger returned to the professional game after his car crash in 2021, he set himself the goal of playing once a month at key events and majors for the remainder of his career. We've not seen him since his withdrawal through illness at the Genesis Invitational and he gave us an insight as to why, and whether he can play once a month for the rest of the 2024 season.
When asked why he didn't play at all in March, he said "Well, I wasn't ready to play. My body wasn't ready. My game wasn't ready. And I thought that when I was at Hero, once a month would be a really nice rhythm. Hasn't worked out that way. But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once a month hopefully kicks in."
A Score of 59 is Now near Impossible At Augusta
Augusta National has seen a lot of changes over the last 25 years. Longer holes, newly positioned tee boxes and reshaped green complexes have made it a tougher task, even for the quality and length of modern golfers. When asked whether a 59 was achievable at Augusta National, Tiger offered his analysis.
"If we played the old yardage and the old tee boxes, I would say yes. Not at 7,600. When I first played here, the fairways were more cut down grain, now they're into the grain. The overseed has gotten thicker. The golf course just plays stickier, in a sense. I know they sand capped all the fairways, but the roll-outs is not what it used to be. So you just can't sneak down there"
"When I played here in '95, my clubs here, it was raining, and I had a 60-degree wedge into 1, I had 8-iron into 2. I drove in the crosswalk on 5. I had 5-iron into 8. I drove it if the in crosswalk on 9 and 17. So there was a lot of 60-degree wedges. I had pitching wedge into 15. That doesn't exist now. So I don't think that's a reality anymore just with the fact that we're so far back."
Rory McIlroy Will Win The Grand Slam
It's no secret that Rory McIlroy is a Green Jacket away from completing the career slam. The Northern Irishman is yet to win at Augusta National, and his collapse from a strong lead in 2011 has been haunting him ever since. When asked whether he thinks Rory can get over the line at the Masters, Tiger's answer was a firm yes.
"No question, he'll do it at some point. Rory's too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when. I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week. You never know. I just think that just, again, the talent that he has, the way he plays game and the golf course fits his eye, it's just a matter of time."
Charlie can now outdrive him
Tiger's son, Charlie Woods, has become more and more prominent as of late with appearances with his father at the PNC Championship over the last three years. Tiger was asked whether he and Charlie have played much at Augusta National, with Tiger giving us a glimpse into his son's ability, especially off the tee.
"I would like to, obviously, play a little bit more up here with him and to share the experiences. Especially now that he's got a little bit longer so he hits it past me. So I think that the days of playing from the members tees are over. He's got to come back there with us."
