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He matched Sam Snead with his 82nd victory at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in late October.
He’s coming off back-to-back weeks of competition at the Hero World Challenge and the Presidents Cup, where the U.S. won and he set the team’s all-time record for wins with a singles match defeat of Abraham Ancer.
Now he’s going to take some time off. So where will Tiger Woods play next?
That remains a mystery.
Woods is eligible for the winners-only Tournament of Champions in Maui, but he skipped it last year even after gaining eligibility as winner of the Tour Championship and hasn’t appeared at Kapalua since 2005 despite a memorable victory there in 2000.
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More likely, Woods will make his 2020 debut at his usual starting spot, the Farmers Insurance Open (Jan. 23-26) in San Diego, where he’s won eight times at Torrey Pines, including the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods has yet to commit there, but he’s already done so for the Genesis Invitational, Feb. 13-16. He’s still never won at Riviera Country Club.
Looking forward to heading back to Riv next year for @thegenesisinv! https://t.co/25P812JaWw
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) November 12, 2019
Given his myriad injuries, Woods will likely continue with a less is more schedule. So, it will be surprising to see him sign up to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he once made the whole state of Arizona shake with a hole-in-one at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th, but also couldn’t break 80 with the chipping yips during his last appearance in 2015. Nor is he likely to be in the mood for the six-hour rounds, potentially cold weather and bumpy greens of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
After his hosting duties at the Genesis Invitational, Woods has been a loyal attendee of WGC’s and could test his stamina by teeing it up two weeks in a row with a start at the WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City. If his body cooperates, the Honda Classic, despite being a home game for Woods and the start of the Florida Swing, will be a scheduling casualty as it is doubtful he will choose to play three in a row. That’s too much golf for his back and knee at this stage in his career.
Woods missed the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year. That has been a favorite hunting ground for him and site of eight of his victories. It’s a safe bet that if the body is willing this time, he’ll be there, and the week after is The Players Championship, where Woods is a two-time champion.
In 2018, Woods finished second at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook. The course fits his eye, but don’t count on Woods showing up unless he’s had to alter his schedule for health reasons or feels the sudden urge to add a start in his run up to the Masters if he’s missed a bunch of cuts and looking for reps.
Last year, Woods made his final tuneup for Augusta at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas. There’s the potential to have to play a lot of golf should Woods go far in the competition, including 36 on Saturday, so his participation here could be subject to change.
All of this leads up to April 9, and Tiger’s defense of the green jacket. That can’t come soon enough, but there should be a respectable number of early-season starts to see Woods and his chase for Tour title No. 83.
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