Tiger Woods makes rare 2020 appearance, returning to a course he ruled
THOUSAND OAKS, Ventura County — Along with his five victories and five-runner-up finishes at Sherwood Country Club, Tiger Woods has finished worse than a tie for fourth only once in 12 appearances.
That one time is a reminder how much time and circumstances have changed.
It was at the end of 2005, and Woods was competing for the sixth time in six weeks. His itinerary took him from Atlanta to China to Japan to Hawaii to the Southern California desert before wrapping up his worldwide, whirlwind tour at Sherwood in his Target World Challenge. He tied for 14th against a 16-man field.
Imagine that. Six events in six weeks, even if two of them were 36 holes (PGA Grand Slam and Skins Games).
Now he hardly plays at all. The Zozo Championship at Sherwood is his sixth tournament in the past eight months.
True, the coronavirus pandemic wiped out three months from the schedule. Even so, Woods waited a month after the shutdown ended in June before making his first appearance. He tied for 40th at the Memorial. He hasn’t played in a month since missing the cut in the U.S. Open. And he likely has only one more tournament — the Masters — the rest of the year.
Woods has made it clear that less is more in a bid to get as much out of his aging body. He rarely plays two weeks in a row unless the circumstances force his hand, such as the FedEx Cup playoffs. Everything is geared toward the majors.
Go back to 2005 to find a 29-year-old Woods who was three years removed from knee surgery to remove fluid and a few benign cysts. He now is 44 with seven additional surgeries: three more on his knee, four on his back.
All of which makes Woods more unpredictable than ever at this stage in his career.
Who appears at Sherwood? The 82-time PGA Tour winner with his next shot at setting the...