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“I have so many people around that I felt it was better to stay home”

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The American golfer Tiger Woods, who plans to compete in the Memorial Tournament, acknowledged on Tuesday that his departure from the PGA Tour competition was due to the fact that he decided to prioritize his safety in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the decision was not easy because he said that the temptation to have returned earlier always had it, although his initial plan to wait and see how the first five tournaments developed since the return to competition prevailed.

“I felt it was better to stay home and be safe,” said Woods, a five-time Memorial champion, after taking his first training run. “I am used to playing with many people around me or who have direct communication with me, and that not only endangers myself, but my friends and family, and I have simply been at home, training and complying with the social distancing”.

He also admitted that playing without spectators in the field where he has competed for 20 years will be somewhat “difficult”, but at the same time he has already perfectly assumed the new reality that occurs within the PGA Tour, which has already confirmed that for the rest of the The 2019-20 season will continue without having an audience in the fields.

The Memorial will be Woods’ first touring event since February 16 when he played in the final round of the Genesis Invitational, making 77 punches and the last of those making the cut.

Last May, Woods partnered with the former quarterback of the National Football League, Peyton Manning, to play against Phil Mickelson and fellow Tampa Bay Buccaneers passer-by, Tom Brady, in a charity fundraising game for those affected by the coronavirus.

One of the biggest differences Woods will see when he faces Northern Ireland’s Rory Mcllroy, world number one, and compatriot Brooks Koepka in the first two rounds of the Memorial is that there will be no fans at the tournament this week.

It was announced in early June that fans would be allowed in the tournament, but then PGA Tour officials announced that their attendance would no longer be possible due to the increased number of coronavirus cases.

No player in the PGA Tour competition has a greater number of followers than Woods, champion of 15 major tournaments, but now the new reality will be very different and it is something that he has already assumed, but that he will have to experience when his participation begins on Thursday. at the Memorial.

Just as after so long without competing, you will have to check how your feelings will be on the field against rivals who have already been on the PGA Tour for more than a month, although he anticipated that his physical condition is very good, given that the rest It has allowed him to overcome the back stiffness that he suffered when he played in the California Genesis tournament.

“I feel much better than I did then,” Woods said. “I was able to train and focus on getting back to the pace that a tournament demands, while I have also improved since the charity match so today it was a lot of fun completing a round together with Justin Thomas.”

Woods currently ranks 41st in the FedEx Cup rankings and 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking, positions he said he hopes to improve as his participation in upcoming tournaments increases.

Woods was also asked what he thought about the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the reaction to the death of George Floyd, the black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

“I think change is great as long as we make changes without hurting the innocent, and unfortunately that has happened. Hopefully it won’t happen in the future, but a movement and a change are fantastic, “said Woods. “This is how society develops, we grow, we advance and we are fair.

Woods also said that “unfortunately, we have lost innocent lives along the way and we hope to lose no more in the future as we move forward in establishing a more just society.”

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