Now that he’s back it’ll be interesting to see just how far Tiger Woods – who wasn’t adverse to escaping the comfort zone of the PGA Tour to play globally, especially in the Middle East and Asia – will spread his wings on his second coming.
Having played all four rounds of the Hero World Challenge, where his game’s rustiness after a near 16 month lay-off following back surgery was evident, Woods – whose 15th place finish behind winner Hideki Matsuyama was probably the most-celebrated such finish in golf history – will now set about mapping out his itinerary for a full return to tournament play next year.
Whether that can possibly include an appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open remains in the lap of the gods, although the actual dates would possibly suit: the Rory McIlroy-hosted Irish Open at Portstewart takes place the week following the Tiger Woods-hosted Quicken Loans National in Maryland and comes two weeks ahead of the British Open. You never know.
Of that schedule for 2017, Woods is still uncertain where it will take him.
“I would like in my heart of hearts to play schedule next year. I really want to play, and one of my goals for the next year is I can start playing more events...we’re going to sit down [to work out a schedule].
“I’ll have a couple of weeks off, work with my physios, get a little stronger, put the weight back on that I lost when I got sick, and then really assess, ‘okay, what’s the plan? How much we can play on the west coast, how much we can play in Florida leading to the Masters, what is the plan leading to Augusta?’ Just like it always is, but this one’s going to be a little bit different because, quite frankly, I haven’t done it in a while. So we’re going to be smart about it.”
Testing
Woods, who is phasing his way out of using Nike clubs after the company opted to move away from club manufacturing to focus on its core business model, intends to start the process of “testing, training and getting a feel of what is best for me” in the coming weeks.
Woods’s return to duty on the golf course provided a late-season lift to the sport, and evidence that he has regained his hunger for the game. As his old sparring partner and mentor Mark O’Meara put it yesterday, “the big key about Tiger Woods is to never underestimate that guy, never underestimate him”.
Suzann Pettersen, another golfer who is close to Woods, said: “He’s too stubborn to let go. He’s going to prove to himself that he’s going to come back from this challenge that he’s had over the last two years with injuries... Tiger is still Tiger. He creates the buzz he’s always done.
“And you know what? Just to see him swing a golf club pain-free kind of leads to the next step, which will probably be to go out and win tournaments again, and for him to put in the reps that he feels like he needs.”
Invite
Pettersen was speaking in Dubai ahead of this week’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters where Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow is taking advantage of an invite to play in the tournament which is part of the Ladies European Tour.
Meadow missed out on earning a full LPGA Tour card for 2017, but has a category based on her 2016 money winnings that will see her play a significant number of tournaments.
Meanwhile, the European Tour’s brief pre-Christmas schedule for the 2017 season continues with the Hong Kong Open at Fanling which features Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose, Masters champion Danny Willett and US Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed among the field.
Paul Dunne is the only Irish player competing.
