When last we heard from Tiger Woods at the Masters, he was non-committal about whether he would play in the PGA Championship, the season’s second major.
“We’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” Woods said. “We’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.”
Apparently, Woods is doing just that as his private airplane arrived at a Tulsa, Oklahoma airport on Thursday. Woods was expected to play a practice round at Southern Hills Country Club, the site of the PGA, beginning May 19, where he won the 2007 PGA Championship by two strokes.
Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, citing multiple sources, reported that Cary Cozby, the head professional at Southern Hills, served as caddie for Woods, who planned to walk all 18 holes.
Tiger Woods is underway at Southern Hills. pic.twitter.com/MHKxKKec4n
— Colby Powell (@ColbyJPowell) April 28, 2022
Woods, 46, shocked the world in April when he competed in the Masters less than 14 months after being involved in a high-speed single-car accident in February 2021 that nearly resulted in amputation of his right leg. Woods opened with 71 at Augusta National, made the 36-hole cut, but began limping as the tournament went on and finished 47th.
In a post-round TV interview, Woods said he intended to play in the 150th British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland, where he won twice, and that he hoped to play at the PGA. He later committed to the J.P. McManus Pro-Am, a two-day event at Adare Manor in Ireland to be held the Monday and Tuesday before the season’s final major.
Woods entered the PGA Championship and U.S. Open to be held June 16-19 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., before the deadline but that was simply a formality to give himself options rather than a firm commitment that he’d be healthy enough to walk four rounds. At the Masters, Woods declared himself a game-time decision and it wouldn’t be surprising if he takes a similar cautiously optimistic attitude about playing the PGA and beyond.
The visit to Tulsa on Thursday for Woods was a pit stop en route to Las Vegas, where Woods will host Tiger Jam, his annual charity fundraiser for the Tiger Woods Foundation on April 29-30.