“It’s the game of a lifetime and I would never want to stop,” golf legend Tiger Woods said Wednesday on the eve of his return to the PGA Tour.
Present at a press conference on the eve of the tournament he is organizing, the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, on the PGA circuit, Woods commented on his highly anticipated return to a high-level tournament after a year 2023 to forget.
“I still love the competition, the game, being part of the golf circuit.
It’s the game of a lifetime and I never want to stop,” Woods warned.
The 48-year-old American has not participated in a PGA Tour tournament since the Masters in April 2023. He then had surgery on an ankle, the after-effects of a car accident in 2021.
He returned to competition in December in two smaller tournaments, but warns that his body will never allow him to return to his best level.
“My ankle no longer hurts, there is no more friction between certain bones.
It affects other parts of my body, which have to adapt.”
Woods' physical form will be particularly watched this week at Riviera Country Club, where he made his debut on the PGA tour at 16, but which he never won.
Woods had announced that he wanted to play one tournament per month in 2024. This could allow him to compete in all four major tournaments for the first time since 2019, the year of his 15th and last major title at the Masters.
“I hope I can manage to be one of the contenders and why not get a +W+ (+win+ for victory) at the end of the week,” he added.
Woods will begin the first day on Thursday at 9:25 a.m. local time (6:25 p.m. Paris time) with two friends, Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the favorite alongside Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who could steal his seat at the top of the rankings if he succeeds in Los Angeles.