On October 27, 2019, Tiger Woods, winner in Japan of the ZOZO Championship, first of the name, came back to the height of Sam Snead, until then the only and only record holder of victories on the US circuit with 82 successes.
Since then, each time the Tiger announces his presence on a PGA Tour meeting, the same and unique question arises, inexorably: will he be able to erase his illustrious roommate from the shelves and place the cursor at 83 victories, thus becoming "sole master on board"?
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However, in seven attempts since the ZOZO Championship, the former world No. 1 for 683 weeks (cumulative) has never had an ounce of hope of achieving this feat.
Only once did he manage to finish in a top… 35. It was last January in Torrey Pines (California), at the Farmers Insurance Open, offering himself a nice 9th place final, six strokes behind the winner, the Australian Marc Leishman.
Since ?
Nothingness.
Or almost.
Last at Pacific Palisades on February 16, 22 points behind Adam Scott, he finished 40th at the Memorial Tournament on July 19 then took an anecdotal 37th place in early August at the PGA Championship in Harding Park (California).
He then played the first two tournaments of the playoffs of the FedEx Cup but finished beyond the top 50 (58th at the Northern Trust and 51st at the BMW Championship), which eliminated him de facto from the final in Atlanta (TOUR Championship).
In the process, he missed the cut at the US Open by signing two cards of 73 and 77 for a score of +10.
A month later, is the greatest golfer of the last twenty years still able to reverse the process while putting his title on the line from Thursday in a small field event (78 players) and without a cut?
Relocated from the land of the rising sun to the Conejo Valley, northwest of Los Angeles, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ZOZO Championship 2020 could, who knows, rehabilitate whoever blows his 45 candles on December 30 next.
Indeed, the Sherwood Country Club located in Thousand Oaks (California), a par 72 of 6467 meters designed by another legend of modern golf, Jack Nicklaus, has often smiled at the Tiger.
Between 2000 and 2013, the place hosted the Hero World Challenge, a very small field tournament (18 players only) organized by… Tiger Woods himself, through his foundation.
He won five times and finished second five times.
In 1999, in an exhibition match in match play format, he also beat 2 & 1 David Duval, then at the top of his game.
Dustin Johnson and DeChambeau, the few absent
A bit like home, Woods will nevertheless have to deal with the cream of world golf.
Sixteen of the twenty first worlds on October 18 are thus at the start.
Only Dustin Johnson, positive for Covid-19, Bryson DeChambeau, voluntary absent until the Masters (12-15 November), Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen have decided to “skip the line”.
Suffice to say that the competition promises to be fierce for a man who has only played seven tournaments since January 1 and whose rumors of a physical relapse due to an increasingly fragile back are swelling day by day. .
Three weeks before the Masters, where he will also put his trophy back on the line, this life-size test is clearly timely!
ZOZO Championship (PGA Tour) - $ 8,000,000 endowment (6,785,604 euros endowment)
Players to watch
Tiger Woods (USA), Patrick Cantlay (USA), Paul Casey (Ang), Harris English (USA), Tony Finau (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Ang), Tommy Fleetwood (Ang), Talor Gooch (USA), Tyrrell Hatton (Ang), Russell Henley (USA), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jason Kokrak (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Jap), Rory McIlroy (IdN), Phil Mickelson (USA), Collin Morikawa (USA) ), Kevin Na (USA), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Jon Rahm (Esp), Patrick Reed (USA), Justin Rose (Ang), Xander Sc Chaudele (USA), Scottie Scheffler (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Webb Simpson (USA), Justin Thomas (USA), Brendon Todd (USA), Bubba Watson (USA), Matthew Wolff (USA), Gary Woodland (USA).
To watch the ZOZO Championship (PGA Tour) on TV:
Thursday October 22, 1st round: 11:00 p.m. (Golf +);
00:14 (Canal + Sport)
Friday 23 October, 2nd round: 11:00 p.m. (Golf +);
00:44 (Canal + Sport)
Saturday October 24, 3rd round: 11:00 p.m. (Golf +);
10:56 p.m. (Canal + Sport)
Sunday October 25, 4th round: 10 p.m. (Golf +);
11:26 p.m. (Canal + Sport)
