after recently turned 50 years oldTiger Woods now faces another career decision.
On the PGA Tour Champions right?
The answer to that question is still unclear, though many former PGA Tour greats have encouraged him to make it on the senior circuit.
said Ernie Els playing in it “can only be beneficial” for Woods. Bernhard Langer and Jack Nicklaus have predicted that he will end up playing with the seniors. Paul Azinger even argued Woods one may feel a “compulsion” to attach it to the 54-hole circuit. PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said they are “ready” for Woods and the onslaught of attention he would bring if he decides the senior tour is for him.
Stewart Zink said GOLF’s Jessica Marksbury that the PGA Champions Tour would be an ideal place for Woods to compete and stay sharp for the majors.
“(Woods) has already made his legacy. He’s not going to come out here and like, recreate a new legacy,” Cink told GOLF. “But I think he’ll be able to pull it off in his purest form, and that’s just competition, and testing himself. It would be a good way for him to test his body and see how things are going, getting ready for some of his other tournaments, majors and non-majors. It would be huge.”
While no one knows when — or if — Woods will make his PGA Champions Tour debut, PGA Tour winner Tommy Gainey, who now plays on the PGA Champions Tour, believes he has an idea — or at least an inkling — of when the 15-time major winner will nail it on the senior circuit.
“There have been rumors that he’s going to play here,” Gainey said SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. “I don’t know if any of the golf fans in TV or radio land have seen it, but he signed a deal with Insperity. You can see it on his sleeve, so that’s good news.
“And Insperity has a tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. So, I’ll let people think maybe what they want to think about that, but that tells me if he’s able to play, he’s going to play in it.”
The Insperity Invitational is held May 4-10 in The Woodlands, Texas, which could give Woods enough time to recover from mid-disc replacement surgery he had in October.
During the recent TGL match, Woods gave an update on his recovery and the timeline for his return to competition.
“I’m going down to the short cuffs, so that’s about it,” Woods said. “I need a little more than that to be able to play (at TGL). With my speed now, I can probably play the Stinger hole. You just roll it off the tee. But no, I’m progressing, which is good. I’m getting there and getting stronger. It’s just one of those things where it just takes so long for the bone to heal and the bone to heal.”
Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon while preparing for the Masters last year.
Gainey, who won the Hale Irwin Rookie of the Year Award at the PGA Tour Champions last season, is looking forward to playing alongside Woods on the senior circuit once the 15-time major winner is healthy.
“The biggest thing for him is, I want him to be healthy,” Gainey said. “And when he gets healthy and plays here, I’d love to join him going into the final round with a chance to win a golf tournament against him. That would be a dream come true.
“Everybody knows he was the man on the PGA Tour and he’s still the pin, in my opinion. I’m so glad he’s 50 because he’s going to bring more eyes to the PGA Tour champions. And that never hurts.”
PGA Tour Champions Director of Players Steve Flesch knows how much Woods’ presence means to the senior squad. They just hope to see it in the flesh.
“Every meet we’re like, we hope he plays,” Felsch told GOLF’s Jessica Marksbury. “Nobody knows. I think we’re all in consensus that if he was going to play, he’d probably play five (tournaments). He’s certainly not going to play 15, but if we could get 10 out of him, that would be fantastic. But nobody knows.
“I mean, we all hope he plays. But we also hope that if he decides to play, he’ll let the tournament officials know more than he likes on the Friday night before the tournament. My guess is he’ll play the majors he can. But nobody really knows.”
No one knows, but Gainey believes Woods has dropped some hints about his plans.
