When Will Tiger Woods Play Next? 15-Time Major Winner Will Be Back 'Soon'
Tiger Woods has admitted he needs "more reps" after a disappointing performance at the Memorial Tournament saw him finish outside the top 30. However, he did not offer any detail on his upcoming PGA Tour schedule.
Woods' appearance at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, was his first competitive outing since finishing 68th in The Genesis Invitational in mid-February and it showed.
The 15-time major winner finished 6-over par for the tournament, his third-worst score in relation to par in 18 appearances at the Memorial Tournament, which he has won five times.
Woods finished 15 shots behind eventual winner and new world No. 1 Jon Rahm, not helped by difficult weather conditions and back stiffness on Friday and Sunday.
The 44-year-old, however, insisted there were positives to take away from Dublin.
"I definitely need more reps," he said after the final round.
"I think I need to work on my putting a bit and clean that up. But as far as my swing, it felt good. I was able to hit good shots. Friday was a bit off physically, but overall, for my first week back, it was a lot of positives.
"I competed and played again. It's been a while. It was nice to get my feet wet and compete and play again. Tough, tough conditions to start out my first week back. But it was good to get the feel and the flow of competing again."
Woods' back has troubled him for years and he underwent four surgeries between 2014 and 2017, when he admitted he feared he may never play golf again and dropped down to No. 1,199 in the world rankings.
While the last procedure allowed him to play regularly and win The Masters in 2019, Woods has repeatedly admitted he will have to continue to deal with back issues for the remainder of his career and that his schedule has to be carefully managed.
Back problems caused him to pull out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in March, before the novel coronavirus pandemic intervened and ground golf to a halt.
Speaking to Golf Channel after his final round, Woods said he would be back on the PGA Tour "soon" but did not offer any details as to which event he will enter next. Since returning from surgery in 2018 he has been reluctant to schedule back-to-back events and he has not entered the 3M Open, which gets underway at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, on Thursday.
However, that means the World Golf Championship which begins at TPC Southwind in Memphis on July 30 is his last opportunity to play before the PGA Championship, which is scheduled for August 6 to August 9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Woods has never played at Southwind before and it remains to be seen whether he will prioritize the need to play more golf before the PGA Championship, which due to the COVID-19 outbreak will be the first major of the season, over giving his troubled back a rest.
Woods has until 5 p.m. EDT on July 24 to enter the World Golf Championship.
