Tiger Woods on the PGA Championship: “I think I can win, without a doubt”

Here it is again. It’s been five weeks since his resounding comeback in Augusta and Tiger Woods seems to have resumed an almost normal life as a professional golfer. Victim of a road accident in February 2021 which almost deprived him of the use of his right leg, the American had managed a crazy race against the clock to find the greens during the Masters, starting in a thunderous way before logically returning to the ranks (47th in the end).

This Thursday, it is at the PGA Championship, in Tulsa, that the world of golf will find its star. She approaches the competition with envy but also with great ambition.

How is your body and mind as you approach the second major of the year?

Tiger Woods: “Better than last time (at the Augusta Masters), which is good. My team had done an incredible job of getting me to a point where I could compete in this event. After every round, I had an ice bath ready for me, before going on the massage table, to then continue to push things forward. And it was hard. After the tournament, we worked hard, with, again, days difficult and others less. Monday was not fun. I was in pain, I was still in an ice bath to try to reduce the swelling in my leg. Then I got back to it as soon as the Tuesday. Now I have more and more better days. I’m able to train a little longer. I’ve gotten stronger. But still, I’m still going to hurt and walking is still a challenge. will be like that again in the near future, that’s for sure”.

What did you learn about your body on the return to Augusta?

TW: “I was in pain, but I got over the pain. It was more of the mind than the body. I had in mind the fact that I had already won a tournament with a broken leg ( at the 2011 US Open, editor’s note). So I kept pushing, even though I was getting more and more tired and didn’t have the stamina I wanted. But since then I’ve been able to work on a little more and it will get better over time”.

You have won fifteen Grand Slams. Where is the simple fact of having been at the end of the Masters?

TW: “Everyone around me was very happy, overjoyed to see me go all 72 holes. I didn’t see it that way. I was disappointed that I didn’t putt well ( …), I wish I had more stamina. Then there were all these ‘what if’… ‘If I had done this, I would have done that, etc…’ But in Looking back, I realized it was a success.”

How close are you to peak physical condition, given your injuries?

TW: “I don’t know… There’s a lot of material in my leg and there will be limits to what I can do, but I’m going to get stronger. I don’t know what range of motion I can recover. But it is sure that there, it is much better than twelve months ago”.

Your putting at Augusta did not satisfy you. Are your physical limitations preventing you from training enough?

TW: “As far as practicing a lot, I don’t do it as much as I used to. Leaning forward, hitting a bunch of putts, I can’t, not with my back in the state it is. I have to choose my places and do different sessions at different times of the day, interspersed with breaks, rather than two or three hours in a row like I used to do”.

Can you win this tournament?

TW: “I think I can win, no doubt. I just have to go out there and do my job. I’ll be ready.”

With AFP