The likes of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy still have a few peak years ahead of them, and the future looks bright behind Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, and Tom Kim, among others. That being said, there’s still nobody that moves the needle more in the golf world than Tiger Woods.
Woods turns 47 at the end of December, and we’re getting to the point where if the 15X major winner plays in an event, it’s kind of a special treat. Each month that goes by, Woods gets older, but he also gets further removed from his February 2021 car crash which is going to make determining his 2023 schedule a bit harder.
Not Counting Woods Out
Woods played in just three TOUR events in 2021/2022, and he only finished one of those with a 47th at the Masters (W/D from the PGA Championship and missing the cut at the Open in St. Andrews). Woods also played in just three tournaments in 2020/21, with a best finish of 36th again at Augusta, and that was before his car crash.
Woods had to pull out of the Hero World Challenge that he hosted in early December because of plantar fasciitis. That didn’t leave things very optimistic for 2023, but Woods also played on back-to-back weekends in December, losing “The Match” to Justin Thomas / Jordan Spieth with partner Rory McIlroy and finishing six strokes off the pace at the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.
We also didn’t think Woods would ever win a major again, but his 2019 Masters win ended a drought since the 2008 U.S. Open. 2023 could go either way for Tiger.
Woods’ 2023 Schedule
After a busy December, we probably won’t see much of Woods in January either on the Hawaii leg (Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Hawaii Open) or even when the TOUR comes back to California for the American Express or the Farmers Insurance Open.
It seems the earliest at minimum, we could see Woods in 2023 is at the Genesis Invitational at the Pacific Palisades in California, as that tournament benefits the Earl Woods scholarship program. Woods was hosting this tournament in 2021 when he got into that horrific car crash.
If the plantar fasciitis hasn’t subsided by the Genesis in mid-February, the next best bets would either be at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – which he has won eight times – or the next weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship. Both of those tournaments are in Florida, relatively close to Woods’ Jupiter Island home.
Look for Woods to appear about a month out prior to the major tournaments – to work out some kinks but also have ample time for his body to recover. One would think Woods hopes to play all four this season, with the Masters scheduled for April 6th-9th, the PGA Championship May 18th-18th, the U.S. Open June 15th-18th, and the Open Championship July 20th-23rd.
Cheers to good health for all in 2023, including the greatest golfer of our generation.
