Rory McIlroy on Ryder Cup
Tiger Woods has fuelled speculation that his about to make a return to competitive golf by leaving a space spare at his own tournament. The 15-time major champion announced the field for his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, which gets underway on November 30, naming world No. 1 Scottie Sheffler and Ryder Cup hereo Viktor Hovland amongst a high-quality line-up.
But with 17 of the 18 positions occupied, Woods said that he has left one space open for a “to be announced tournament exemption”, dropping the biggest hint yet that he is ready to get back on the fairway.
Woods left a space open for himself at the same tournament last year but was unable to participate due to plantar fasciitis. However, with one slot still available once more it looks like he could be ready to end his injury-imposed exile from the sport.
The 47-year-old’s last appearance was at August National in April when he was forced to withdraw from The Masters. Since then he has undergone surgery on his right leg, which was severely damaged in a 2021 car accident.
A statement released on his own Twitter account in April said that he had undergone a fusion of the subtalar joint “to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture”. The subtalar joint is located just below the ankle joint, between the talus bone and heel bone.
Woods has only managed to compete in five tournaments since his car crash in Southern California. Despite making the cut four times he was only able to complete 72 holes twice.
That he is still able to consider competing at all is nothing short of miraculous, such was the severity of his traumatic accident. Following the incident, he had to have major surgery on his right leg. Both the upper and lower portions of his tibia and fibula had broken in multiple places and he also suffered damage to his ankle bones.
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Speaking at this year’s Masters, he said: “I’m very lucky to have this leg. It’s mine. Yes, it has been altered and there’s some hardware in there, but it’s still mine.
“It has been tough and will always be tough. The ability and endurance of what my leg will do going forward will never be the same. I understand that. That’s why I can’t prepare and play as many tournaments as I like, but that’s my future, and that’s okay. I’m okay with that.”
Other players set to appear at the Hero World Challenge include European Ryder Cup stars Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Strakka and 11 of the 12 players that made up the USA team in Rome. Only LIV golfer Brooks Koepka is missing from Zach Johnson’s side.
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