Golf lovers quiver with impatience.
See the former world No. 1 land his ball on the tee of hole number 1 at the Riviera Country Club this Thursday at 12:04 p.m. (at Pacific Palisades in California and 8:04 p.m. in France) in the company of two of his best friends on the circuit Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.
The golf superstar, ambassador of the Genesis Invitational, which he has been sponsoring since 2017, for the benefit of his “
TGR Foundation
”.
This flagship tournament of the American circuit brings together this week 19 of the 20 best in the world.
The best.
To discover
The world ranking of the best golf players
More than two years after his last official outing on the PGA Tour, at the ZOZO Championship at the end of 2020, in Japan, the winner of 15 Majors and 82 tournaments in total, is back in business.
And that's already good news.
The Tiger, who has not played in competition since The Open last July, can he still roar at 47?
Another story.
It's hard to know what level of play Woods will be able to produce in an event he has never won in eleven appearances.
He announces it: “
I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could win.
That's my mentality
."
He admits: “
I'm very rusty, but I've been rusty before and played well.
I think I prepared my case well,
because I knew what shots I had to work on .
»
The appearances of the golf icon have become increasingly rare since his terrible car accident two years ago and his double tibia-fibula fracture in the right leg in February 2021. He has thus played only three tournaments in 2022, only Majors.
47th at the Masters (+13), abandonment after the 3rd round of the PGA Championship (+12) and a missed cut in the large widths (+9) during the 150th British Open.
And if we haven't seen him play since, it's because he had to treat plantar fasciitis.
Last December, during the PNC Championship, an exhibition contested in Orlando with his son Charlie, the Tiger thus played in a cart to spare himself.
The leg is better, but…”
The key is day-to-day recovery.
My leg is in better shape than last year, but my ankle is the problem.
We had to make sure that she relaxes, while restoring her strength at the same time, it's a complex balance to find
”.
It remains to be seen what the endurance will be.
Woods having admitted not having played yet, this year, 72 holes in four consecutive days.
The current 1294th in the world assures him, the hour of retirement has not yet come.
An (almost) certainty.
Woods, holder of the record number of weeks spent at the top of the world hierarchy with 683 weeks including 281 consecutive from 2005 to 2010, will become increasingly rare.
“
If I would like to play more?
Yes.
Can I?
I don't know.
I'm not going to play a full season, so I have to choose my tournaments.
It will be the Majors and maybe one or two more.
I have to be realistic... But I will put all my energy into these events
”.
Starting with the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.