Buzz, the anticipation begins for Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship


Tulsa, USA: Tiger Woods continues his comeback from serious leg injuries at next week’s PGA Championship after making a sensational comeback at last month’s Masters with plenty of curiosity about the state of his game.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion practiced last month at Southern Hills and enthusiastic fans are hoping he can improve on his 47th-place finish at Augusta National, where Woods said finishing 72 holes is one of the biggest accomplishments of his career.

“Some of the players that are close to me have seen it and they’ve seen some of the things that I’ve had to put up with,” Woods said last month. “It has been a difficult road and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to overcome it.

“I think it was positive and I have work to do and I look forward to it.”

Woods, a former world number one who is now ranked No. 804, won the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills and returns to the Tulsa, Oklahoma layout 15 months after a serious car accident that damaged his right leg so badly that he feared he would have to be amputated.

“To get from that to here, we’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, getting into that gym and doing other things to get my leg stronger,” Woods said after his final round at the Masters last month. .

“We’ll be back after that.”

Woods, 46, shot a 63 in the second round in 2007 at Southern Hills on his way to the title and returned a few weeks ago to see what changes the court renovation had brought, as walking a court for four days was has become a great resistance. Test.

“It caused quite a stir even before it landed,” Southern Hills director of golf Cary Cozby told The Golf Channel. “He walked out of here looking like Elvis walking off the stage.”

Southern Hills underwent a major renovation in 2019 with bunkers refurbished and many trees removed.

“I remembered the whole golf course, every club I hit looked like,” Cozby said. “He seemed to enjoy the changes.”

Augusta National offered one of the toughest hikes of any season, but Southern Hills has just a couple of major climbs, which should be an easier test as Woods looks ahead to the British Open at St. Andrews in July.

“I have those days where I just don’t want to do anything. it just hurts It’s those days that are tough,” Woods admitted in Augusta.

“I just have to work through it. To improve, you just have to go out there and spend time with it.”

Woods had battled nagging back and knee injuries to win the 2019 Masters and earn his first major win in 11 years, only to face his latest setback after a car crash in California in February 2021.

Players and spectators applauded Woods, a 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, in his comeback effort at the Masters.

“We all have Tiger to thank for where the game is,” four-time Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy said. “I think Tiger has made more of a mark on this game than basically anyone else in history. We should all be very lucky to have played at a time when he was around because we’ve all benefited from him.”

The last 10 winners of the PGA Championship

2021: Phil Mickelson (USA)

2020: Collin Morikawa (USA)

2019: Brooks Koepka (USA)

2018: Brooks Koepka (USA)

2017: Justin Thomas (USA)



Reference-gulfnews.com

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