Where will Tiger Woods play next?
NEW PROVIDENCE ISLAND, Bahamas — Now that Tiger Woods is back in the mix, playing well enough not to embarrass himself, if not necessarily win tournaments, the next question is: where will we see Woods next?
“I would like, in my heart of hearts, to play a full schedule next year,” Woods said after Sunday’s final round at the Hero World Challenge. “I really want to play.” A full schedule for Woods likely means 15 to 20 events, plus non-Tour events and exhibitions; he played 16 Tour events in 2013 and 19 in 2012.
Given that Woods will play Augusta any time he’s not actually on fire, we can start at the Masters and work backward. There are 15 tournaments on the PGA Tour slate between now and that first full week in April. So let’s strike a few right off the tee:
• Woods doesn’t or likely won’t qualify for events like the year-opening Tournament of Champions or the WGC-Mexico and WGC Match Play in March. He’ll also likely avoid playing back-to-back events, like the Shell Houston Open right before Augusta, at least until he feels his conditioning is up to it.
So what does that leave?
• The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida is one of Woods’ most frequent stops, and with good reason: he has eight victories there. Woods drew some minor murmurs recently when he didn’t attend Palmer’s funeral, but he’ll almost surely return to Bay Hill if he’s anything close to healthy.
• The Tiger Woods Foundation now operates the Genesis Open (the new name for the former L.A. Open/Northern Trust Open) at Riviera in February, so it’s an all-but-certain lock he’ll be in the field there.
• The Farmers Insurance Open in late January is at Torrey Pines, site of some notable moments for Woods. If he’s available, it’s a good bet he’ll be there. Why wouldn’t he be available? If he was on the other side of the planet, of course.
Woods plans to take the next couple weeks off, and then assess what he and his team believe are the best strategic plays going forward. The team will “really assess, what’s the plan, what’s the smart plan here, how much we can play on the west coast, how much we can play in Florida leading to the Masters, what is the plan leading to Augusta,” Woods said.
International tournaments, with their incredibly lucrative seven-figure appearance fees, throw a bit of complication into the scheduling business. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, for instance, take place the week before and the week after the Farmers Insurance Open, meaning Woods would have to fly literally halfway around the world to play in consecutive weeks.
Woods has in recent years begun playing in (or, at least, committing to) tournaments he’d traditionally skipped in the past, and given the fact he’s repeated how much he’s in need of in-tournament reps and practice, it’s likely he could do so again. That means he could bring the Tiger Woods Circus to the Valspar Championship, the Honda Classic, or even the college football atmosphere of the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale.
Woods also noted that he hopes to qualify to play for the Presidents Cup team later this year. “I know I’m an assistant already, but I’d like to be a playing assistant,” he said. “That was kind of the idea heading into this year’s Ryder Cup, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Wherever Woods decides to go before Augusta, it’s clear he’s taking this latest return more seriously, and more deliberately, than he has in the past. Woods appeared to avoid injury this week at the Hero World Challenge, and that’s a positive sign for him going forward.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
