AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods’ stated plan to play once a month through the heart of the golf season has already gotten off track.
Woods last played competitively in February at the Genesis Invitational, where he withdrew during the second round because of illness. He chose not to play last month at either the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event on the PGA Tour where he has won eight times, or The Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event.
“I wasn’t ready to play,” Woods said Tuesday. “My body wasn’t ready. My game wasn’t ready.”
Woods was more optimistic last December at his own Hero World Challenge, when he tied for 18th in the 20-man field and thought that a once-a-month competitive cadence from February to July was achievable because of how he felt following ankle fusion surgery last year.
Woods didn’t say necessarily that he suffered a physical setback this spring – only that “things flare up,” mentioning his back and knee. In the opening round at Riviera, he said that he experienced back spasms late in his round, and that caused him to hit a shank on his final hole of the day.
“I thought that when I was at Hero, once a month would be a really nice rhythm. It hasn’t worked out that way,” he said. “But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now, the once a month hopefully kicks in.”
And it starts at Augusta National, where the challenge isn’t just the hilly walk but also the strain that it puts on his body while hitting from uneven lies.
Over the past few months, Woods said his training has changed on a daily basis, with just as many good days, health-wise, as bad.
“I hurt every day,” he said with a wry smile. “I ache every day.”
Woods, who will be looking to make a record 24th consecutive cut at the Masters, begins his opening round at 1:24 p.m. ET Thursday alongside Max Homa and Jason Day.
