Can all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put golf’s Humpty Dumpty back together again?
Tiger Woods is sidelined for an indefinite amount of time after undergoing surgery on his right ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis caused by injuries suffered in his single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021. Woods withdrew during the rain-delayed third round of this year’s Masters in April after showing considerable discomfort walking the hills of Augusta National in bad weather.
Jack Nicklaus, whose record of 18 majors is looking more safe with every passing day and every injury Woods sustains, prefaced his comments about Woods during a press conference ahead of his appearance in the Greats of Golf exhibition Saturday during the Insperity Championship on the PGA Tour Champions.
“I don’t know a lot about what he’s been through,” Nicklaus began.
“He’s showed a lot of guts and courage to play and try to be part of what’s going on with the way he’s been,” he continued. “He’s actually swinging pretty well; he just can’t walk.”
Nicklaus recounted how he sat next to Woods at the Champion's Dinner at the Masters, as he does most years.
“We talk quite a bit,” Nicklaus said. “He said, ‘I’m really playing well. I’m hitting the ball great. My short game’s great. My putting’s good.’ He said, ‘I just can’t walk.’ And he says, ‘If it helps where I can walk, I’m willing to do it.’ ”
That’s about as good an explanation for why Woods agreed to go under the knife yet again as we’ve heard to date.
“He wouldn’t be having the operations if he wasn’t interested in wanting to continue to play,” Nicklaus said. “He’s a very motivated and dedicated young man to continue to play the game of golf.”
Nicklaus added of the 47-year-old golfer, whose body has been through the ringer: “The dedicated young doesn’t last very long.”
Annika Sorenstam, winner of 72 LPGA titles, walked away from the game on her own terms and has returned to play a handful of celebrity events, last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won in 2021. She has a keen eye for Woods’ plight.
“I can just see it from a fan’s standpoint,” Sorenstam said. “I think he’s in more pain than he lets everybody know. I think it’s a lot more serious. But he is so tough. And so courageous.”
How long Woods will be sidelined this time is anyone’s guess, but his participation in this year’s remaining three majors – the PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June and British Open in July – seems unlikely.
“I think we’d all like to see him play,” Sorenstam said. “He adds so much to the game every time he tees up. Whether he makes the cut or not, he adds to the tournament in so many ways.
“But you don’t want to see anybody in pain. You don’t want to see anybody, they’re hurting. Especially in his case. So hopefully this surgery will be the last of it. And will be good for him. Who knows.”
At this stage, not even Woods knows whether Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again.
Tiger Woods underwent a procedure on his right foot and released a statement saying the surgery was successful, but it now casts serious doubt on his status for 2023. Will we see Woods make any more competitive starts this year?
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): From everything I’ve read, it seems unlikely he’ll be able to play any majors, and I don’t think he planned to play much beyond that anyway. Here’s hoping he can jump in a cart and play the PNC Championship with Charlie in December. Then, after that, maybe Riviera and the Masters. Baby steps.
Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): Does the silly season count? Maybe, but that’s a big, all caps, italics and stars *MAYBE*. Who knows what he’ll be able to do with the golf swing after this surgery, which involves fusing together a joint in the ankle. I’ve heard that if it was his left foot, the surgery would be career ending. If the issue remains walking, and his recovery goes as scheduled, it sounds like we could see him at the PNC and then maybe for the start of his virtual league with Rory McIlroy, the TGL. But I don’t think we’ll hear from him at all again until the Hero World Challenge.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): He’ll absolutely be back for the PNC. Unless he isn’t. That old line about people planning and god laughing applies to any of us trying to forecast Tiger’s health. Raise your hand if you saw plantar fasciitis coming? Neck. Back. Knee. Foot. Ankle. The only thing I think we can say for sure is that it wouldn’t be a shocker if some other body part gave out next.
Looking beyond this season, as Woods’ injuries and surgeries continue to stack up, at what point does he decide enough is enough? Are we approaching that?
Berhow: Based on his schedule prior to this setback — the majors, maybe one or two more events — he’s really already in that second (or whatever number) stage of his career. I think he’s still several years away from officially “retiring,” since in a sport like golf — and with his lifetime exemption — he would be able to take advantage of a healthy stretch and enter an upcoming event or major to try and catch lightning in a bottle. I don’t think he’s anywhere close to giving up on those potential healthy starts yet.
Hirsh: I’m with Berhow on this. Obviously, just being able to walk pain-free is first and foremost, but if there’s any chance he can continue to play at a high level, he’s going to try. Whether that’s the right thing to do or not isn’t up to us to decide.
Sens: Agreed. Let’s just hope it doesn’t become like the knight in Monty Python (It’s just a flesh wound!), where everyone knows it’s over except the guy who wants to keep on fighting. This being Woods, and this being golf, which allows for more lives than any sport, I’m sure we’ll be on Tiger-watch for a large handful of majors to come.
Lilia Vu beat Angel Yin in a playoff to win the Chevron Championship and claim the LPGA’s first major of the season, which took place at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, the first time since it began in 1972 it wasn’t held at Mission Hills following Chevron’s new title sponsorship. What are your thoughts on Year 1 of the new host venue?
Berhow: As someone who is not always big on change, I liked a lot of what I saw. Sure, the leap into Poppie’s Pond is no more and the alternative they cooked up on Sunday was fine, and word is the spectator shuttles took a little longer than desired, but it’s hard to find negatives about a sponsor that wants to invest in the women’s game. If I’m Chevron, it makes sense to move this event to their backyard. That’s their right. I also saw on Twitter there was a HBCU Career Panel taking place on site, and this was also the first time in this tournament’s history players who missed the cut received a $5,000 stipend. We’ll get used to the course in time, but seems like there’s lots of good to build on here.
Hirsh: While I’d love to see more events played at more interesting golf courses, I’m kind of indifferent on the venue change. I agree with Josh about it being great Chevron wanting to inject money into the LPGA, but it does suck it requires moving the event from where it’s developed a history at. I also hope the alligator netting actually works!
Sens: This was a tough, long course, with small greens and all sorts of trouble, and I loved Vu’s composure on it during what was a pretty packed race for a while. As for breaking with tradition, as my colleagues note, a small price in exchange for a solid sponsorship. I’m sure every player would take that guarantee over a jump into a pond.
John Daly, 56, and David Duval, 51, received sponsor’s exemptions into the Zurich Classic and missed the cut at 14 over, which was 12 behind the next-worst score. While it’s an event’s right to use its exemptions how it pleases, do you have an issue with this one in particular, given both players are well past their primes and rarely play competitively anymore?
Berhow: It really was a tough look when those guys struggled so much in alternate shot, but the truth is the majority of these pros make that format look so easily when it’s in fact so incredibly hard. In a way inviting them did exactly what it was supposed to by drawing attention to an event that lacked star power, but it’s unfortunate they didn’t play better.
Hirsh: Yes, this was a joke. It was likely born out of a necessity to help fill the field given the Zurich’s place in the schedule, but there were guys on the alternate list — while not the biggest names — who could have used the opportunity. The tournament typically requires one member of each team to be exempt and then the second can be a sponsor’s exemption. This was the case when 66-year-old Jay Haas made the cut while playing with son Bill last year. But Jay Haas is a PGA Tour Champions stud with 18 wins, albeit the last coming in 2016. Daly and Duval have combined for just one victory on the over-50 circuit.
Sens: I’m on the fence about this. I understand the obvious objections and the unlikelihood that Duval and Daly were going to be in the mix. But, as in Dumb and Dumber, even if the odds were a million to one, there was still a chance. It’s easy to knock the move in retrospect. But what if Duval and Daly had played out of their minds in the opening round and posted a decent score? Then the event would have had the best of both worlds: a crowd-pleasing pairing with an entertaining underdog story. And in the end, this is entertainment.
Speaking of the Zurich Classic, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy won, closing with a seven-under 65 in alternate shot on Sunday to best Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor by two. But you’re in charge next year. What tweaks are you making to the event, either with how teams are picked, the formats played or both?
Berhow: Since it’s a team event that’s not the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup — and honestly if we are inviting aging sponsor’s exemptions — we might as well embrace the weirdness and go all out. Fourballs is boring. Let’s go four days, four formats. Make one day a scramble, but if you go three holes without a birdie you are eliminated. Make the next day a worst-ball scramble. Round 3 you get only four clubs. Then, for the final round, alternate shot. Wait a few years and this is the formula for a fifth major.
Hirsh: For starters, I’d move it to a different part of the schedule. Maybe toward the end of January or February so it doesn’t get swallowed by the Masters. I could also see an argument for the new Fall series, but I kinda like the idea of this event counting for the FedEx Cup. It really is great to see the unique format and I’d love to see it get some more big names regularly. Next I’d drop fourball. Make the whole thing alternate shot, the true team format that doesn’t allow you to hide a poorly performing partner. That would really make things interesting with the added bonus of speeding up play.
Sens: I’m with Jack: make it all alternate shot. On a more outlandish note, I’m still waiting for the team event where each team gets one opportunity during a round to pick a fan from the crowd to hit a shot for the opposition. I suppose you’d have to institute a Really Silly Season for that to happen. But I would watch.
