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Tiger Woods re-joins the PGA Tour after not playing for five months. He will return to the tour on Thursday, July 16th as he joins fellow athletes in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Woods has won this event five times in his career.
The coronavirus pandemic shut down the PGA in mid-March. But by that time, Woods was already taking a break. Woods was forced to sit down the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players due to a stiff back.
The last time he played was at the Genesis Open, a tournament that benefits his foundation. In this tournament, Woods finished last among the players that made the cut, posting 76-77.
After the PGA restarted, there were many times that Woods considered re-joining. But with the uncertainties of coronavirus, he decided that it would be best to keep his family safe by staying home.
(Retrieved from ABC Newscall)
Even though he is returning to the tour, he recognizes that it is still not one hundred percent safe. But he believes that the tour has been good with their safety protocols, so he is willing to take the risk.
“The risk that I’m taking, the risk that all of us are now taking… The tour has done a fantastic job of setting up the safety [of the tournament] and trying to ensure that all of us are protected and are all safe… It’s a risk that I’m willing to take.” said Woods
Woods on No-Fans Policy
The PGA recently canceled their plans on having fans attend the next stops of the tour. This was due to another rise of COVID-19 in the United States.
Other players have discussed how odd it feels when they play without fans. This is because they usually can guess how good their shot was based on fan reactions.
As one of the most decorated athletes, Woods always has a lot of fans attending his events. He says that playing without the energy fans bring will take some time to get used to.
(Retrieved from ABC Newscall)
Despite being used to having fans, this would not be the first time Woods has to compete without fans present. He previously won the AT&T National in 2012 with no fans. Another big win for the California native was the Zozo Championship in 2019, which he also did without spectators.
