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Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers ever, but all but one of his major titles are 15 years old or older now. And with how many injuries he has sustained throughout his career, it is a fair question to ask if Woods can ever achieve the glory of winning another Major or non-Major title again. But the person who needs to believe it the most does.
While speaking to the media today ahead of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville this week, Woods said he thinks he can win resume his winning ways, but being able to keep up his play throughout the weekend has proven to be a challenge.
“I can still hit shots,” Woods said. “Getting around is more of the difficulty that I face day-to-day. And the recovery of pushing myself either in practice or in competition days. I mean, you saw it at Augusta (at The Masters); I was there after two days and didn’t do very well on the weekend.
“I still feel like I can win golf tournaments. I still feel I can hit the shots and still feel like I have my hands around the greens and I can putt. I just need to do it for all four days, not like I did in Augusta for only two.”
Tiger Woods still believes he has what it takes to win.
pic.twitter.com/GjBe5DYmTh
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 14, 2024
Can Tiger Woods win PGA Tour events with injuries piling up?
Tiger Woods, now 48, has undergone numerous surgeries throughout his career. He was largely sidelined between 2014 and 2018 as his back was operated on four different times, and he has recovered from several knee surgeries throughout the course of his time as a professional as well.
While he won the 2019 Masters, his first Major championship in nearly 11 years, Woods has won just a single PGA Tour tournament since. A large factor in that, in addition to his increasing age, is a serious single-car crash in February 2021. Woods’ car “sustained major damage” after the vehicle, which was traveling nearly twice the speed limit in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, rolled over and necessitated surgery on his lower body.
Dr. Anish Mahajan of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, who operated on Woods following the crash, said the golfer suffered “significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity.”
“Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia,” Mahajan said. “Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling.”
Woods returned more than a year later, playing in the 2022 Masters, where he made the cut but was seen limping through the final two rounds en route to a 47th-place finish. He withdrew from the PGA Championship the following month and missed the cut at The Open Championship in July 2022.
This year at the Masters, Woods shot a 73 and 72 in the first two rounds, respectively, before freefalling down the leaderboard with an 82 and 77 in rounds three and four to finish +16 and in 60th place.
Woods will tee off with Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley at 8:04 a.m. ET on Thursday at the PGA Championship.
More must-reads:
- Bryson DeChambeau prevails in dramatic final round battle to win U.S. Open
- Rory McIlroy chokes away U.S. Open with pair of brutal missed putts
- Can you name every male golfer to win at least three majors in the last 50 years?
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