Fresh off wining his 82nd PGA Tour title in Japan and matching the record number of wins held by Sam Snead, Tiger Woods revealed himself as the fourth and final pick to complete his team heading down under to defend the Presidents Cup, which gets underway on December 9th. However don’t expect the 15-times Major champion to be too prominent a figure with a club in his hand as these days as he knows his body won’t allow it.
Tiger Woods
“I don’t play five sessions any more, I just don’t. It’s a young man’s game,” Tiger said. “The first time when I didn’t play all five was at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. My back was toast and I told captain Davis Love, ‘hey, I can’t go in the afternoon on Saturday’. I was on the treatment table the entire time, my back was done.”So how many sessions can we expect to see him in? “Four is probably maximum and maybe two or three,” he said. “we have plenty of time to figure that out.”
Captain Tiger
Woods, whose Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup records read 24-15-1 and 13-21-3 respectively, admitted he never took heed of how much work goes into being part of the backroom staff at a team event.
“As a player, you just play,” he said. “You get put together with a partner and have 18 holes to figure out how to win more holes than they do and win a match and a point for your team – it’s not complicated.
Managing Personalities
“When you’re a vice-captain and ultimately a captain you have more duties and more things to take into consideration. That was pretty eye-opening – how many moving parts there are. Management of personality and people and the surrounding cast; it was a lot more than I had originally thought and it was eye-opening as a player who had played all those years. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.” – Tiger Woods
Patrick Reed
Wood’s Captaincy style will be open and he’s already made some difficult decisions in leaving match-play expert Kevin Kisner behind in favour of more experienced team players in Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler.
“It’s open dialogue between all my players and vice captains, I want their opinions at all times, keep it coming in,” he said. “I don’t care what time of the day it is, if you have a thought, send it; Have a thought, pick up the phone and call me
First or Nothing
“None of us want to finish second so we’re going to do whatever 0we can to prepare to win.” With Woods’ 82nd Tour title coming at the age of 43, it’s not lost on him that Snead was 52 when he won his last PGA Tour title.
Rough Patches
“I probably thought about hitting that record when I got north of 50, but then unfortunately I went through some rough patches with my back and didn’t play for a number of years, so that record seemed like it was out of reach,” Woods said. “Having had my fourth back procedure and being able to come back and play at a decently high level again, it put the number back in the conversation again – and lo and behold, here we are tied.”
Tiger set to play into his 50s
“As far as playing until I’m 52, I hope that’s the case. If you would have asked me a few years ago, I would have given a different answer, but certainly the future looks brighter than it has. The body can’t do what it used to but I can still think my way around the golf course.” – Tiger Woods “The win in Japan was a good sign for the future. Hopefully I can be as consistent as Sam was, well into my 40s and early 50s.”
After the Presidents Cup
After the Presidents Cup Woods will turn his attention to his next goal – representing his country at the Olympics in Tokyo next summer.
“Making the Olympic team is a big goal,” he said. “I don’t see myself having too many opportunities other than next year. Four years from now, at the following Olympic Games, I’ll be 48-years-old. To be one of the top Americans at that age is going to be tough.”
Olympic Goal
“I went to my first Olympic Games when it was in Los Angeles (1984). So now to have the opportunity to be a part of the Olympics, because golf in my lifetime wasn’t a part of the Olympics before 2016, is an important aspect for us and the growth of the game. The game has become so global, and so reaching, that I think the Olympic Games is a great extension of that and I’d like to be a part of it.”
Master Class
With that on the horizon, Woods has more pressing matters at hand down under this month. Plus with his first taste of team Captaincy an away match in the Presidents Cup, he’ll be fully focussed on delivering another win before resting ahead of the defence of his Masters crown in April.
