10 Takeaways From Tiger's Press Conference

Despite him pocketing $15m for his PIP efforts this year, we still don’t see or hear enough from Tiger Woods. As he’s got older he’s become a lot more outspoken and this week was no exception as he headlined the Hero World Challenge even though he was unable to play due to struggling with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Here we highlight some of the Cat’s thoughts on the world of golf today.

On Greg Norman and LIV..

‘I think Greg has to go, first of all, and then obviously litigation against us and then our countersuit against them, those would then have to be at a stay as well. So then we can talk, we can all talk freely.’

On Rory…

‘Rory is a true leader out here on Tour. The fact that he's actually able to get the things he said out in the public eye, be so clear minded with it and so eloquent with it, meanwhile go out there and win golf tournaments on top of that, people have no idea how hard that is to do, to be able to separate those two things. He's a great leader in our calls we make and he's a great leader with all the players out here. Everyone respects him and they respect him because not just his ball-striking, his driving, but the person he is.’

On 2022 …

‘Personally for me, I was hoping to maybe play the British Open, ended up playing three majors, which is not too bad all things considered. I wasn't expecting to have a few more procedures because of playing, but that's just the way it goes. As far as the golf ecosystem, I don't think any of us would have foreseen it being as complicated as it is and convoluted as it has become and the animosity from both sides. I don't think we would've seen that a year ago.’

On getting Covid at St Andrews…

‘I got tested. I was always negative. I was I feeling under the weather, yes, wasn't feeling great the whole week, but I never got a positive test.’

On his current injury..

‘I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever shot you want, I just can't walk. And so I've had a few setbacks during the year that I still was able to somehow play through, but this one I just can't. Only time can heal this one and stay off my feet and get a lot of treatment done. As I was ramping up and had to walk more, the worse it got. So when you get plantar fasciitis, that's the the worst thing you can do is walk.’

The world ranking system…

‘It’s a flawed system. That's something we all here recognise. The field at Dubai got less points than Sea Island and more of the top players were there in Dubai, so obviously there's a flawed system. The main tours that are involved in it somehow come up with a better system than is in place now. I remember in my career when I had a big lead in my career, I didn't have to play a single tournament the next year and I still would be ranked No. 1. We changed that system then. So it has been changed in the past and I'm sure this will be changed hopefully soon.’

His 2023 plans…

‘The goal is to play just the major championships and maybe one or two more. That's it, physically that's all I can do. I don't have much left in this leg, so gear up for the biggest ones and hopefully, you know, lightning catches in a bottle and I'm up there in contention with a chance to win and hopefully I remember how to do that. But again, giving myself a chance to get out there again. We were hoping for just the British Open, but I was able to get two more in there, so that was a big positive.’

On helping his fellow players…

‘It is neat, yes. I've had a few players that have come over to the house and have wanted to work on some stuff in the backyard with me, and they have and they've made some positive strides, which I'm excited about, I helped them. It's nice to be able to be on that seat, but I would much rather be competing against them.’

On a return to a St Andrews Open..

‘I don't know if I'll be able to make it back one more time as a player in the tournament. You know, maybe I might. I probably will go back and play it at some point with Charlie and have a great time, but I think it's, what, eight years away, I believe? I don't know what this leg is going to look like in eight years. Hopefully it's still attached, but we'll see. And I just don't want to go back and just say farewell, I want to win the damn thing. I mean, that's what I thought I could do this year. I was doing everything right and then all of a sudden my leg just wasn't working properly. So I had to miss the cut badly.’

On using a cart...

'On the PGA Tour, no. On the sanctioned events where it's allowed, yes, which is the Champions Tour, PNC, things of that nature. My team-mate was Casey Martin, OK, and what he did with the ADA, I voted against it. I will never take a golf cart until it's sanctioned. It's sanctioned on the Champions Tour and the PNC is part of that. As far as a regular event, no, I would never do that.'