Tiger Woods Isn’t Afraid of COVID-19 But Still Has to Deal With This
It has been quite some time since Tiger Woods last participated in an event on the PGA Tour. That has changed as the 15-time major champion has announced his return to the fold to play at the Memorial Tournament after a five-month absence. There has been plenty of buzz around him being back into the fold, especially during this challenging time due to the coronavirus being a prominent issue worldwide. Woods has pushed toward taking the risk to play competitive golf despite that concern, but another hurdle that comes with the territory will be challenging for him to get through.
Tiger Woods announces return to the PGA Tour
It has been an interesting last few months for Tiger Woods that has seen him step away from the PGA Tour’s limelight with his recent event being back in February.
His last performance came at the Genesis Invitational, where he finished in 68th place at +11. During the previous five months, Woods turned down the chance to play in numerous events due to back stiffness. That included the likes of the Charles Schwabe Challenge, RBC Heritage, WGC Mexico Championship, The Arnold Palmer Invitational, and The Players championship.
On top of that, there has been a growing concern over the coronavirus that temporarily stopped the PGA Tour. That saw several events either canceled or postponed for later in the year. Some of the biggest tournaments such as The Masters, The U.S. Open, and the Ryder Cup all get pushed. All that aside, Woods is back in the mix, there lies one concern he has about the precautionary setup about the event.
Tiger Woods has some concern about playing without a crowd
It has been a challenging last few months, which has seen many golfers weighing the risk of playing golf with the coronavirus still prevalent.
Tiger Woods has moved to the point where he has confidence and comfort playing in the setup that the PGA has put forth. However, he doesn’t know how it’s going to be playing with any crowd noise. (H/T Stats Perform News)
He said it would be strange to play without “the noise, the energy that people bring”.
“It’s silence and a different world,” he added. “Even at college I had a few people following me.”
Woods has gone through his entire career with a strong following wherever he has golfed. It will mark the first time in the PGA Tour that he will be playing without a crowd. That will require some mental adjustment to the situation that will turn more toward his focus at the task at hand on the golf course.
It’s another element that not only Woods has to adjust to, but the other golfers in the tournament with the lack of what has provided a certain feel to the game. The fact that the 44-year-old has pointed out that out speaks to how different things will be for him stepping into essentially unfamiliar territory.
Expectations for Tiger Woods at the Memorial Tournament
Any event that Tiger Woods enters, there is the expectation that he will have a shot to win the tournament.
Woods has earned the reputation from the incredible success that he has had during his illustrious career. However, things could be quite tough this time around as he hasn’t played competitively in a few months. There will be the need to knock off the rust from not being in the PGA Tour circuit for that frame while he has only participated in three events in this year’s tour.
It wouldn’t be a total shocker for Woods to struggle at specific stretches given that, but it’s hard to count him out completely.
