Tiger Woods gets ready to compete in his first professional event since his withdrawal from the PGA Championship back in May. After making the cut Woods withdrew after the Saturday round of the 2nd major championship of the year citing pain in the leg he nearly lost in a car crash in early 2021.
Woods announced his scheduled for summer after his come back performance at the Masters’. He announced at that time that he would be competing at the 150th Open Championship to be contested at his favorite course, St. Andrews.
At that time realizing that he would need a tune up event prior to the Open Woods committed to competing in the JP McManus Pro-Am along side of the best players in the world.
Wood did not mention the PGA Championship or the U.S. Open in his comments, however after completing 4 rounds at Augusta National Woods submitted his entry for the PGA Championship where he untimatly withdrew.
Woods didn’t even give the U.S. Open a try withdrawing weeks prior to the event starting, nothing his complete focus on getting ready for the Open Championship.
He arrived in style by helicopter on Saturday, with a noticeable limp still in his gait. The flat links courses that he will play on for the next two weeks should be less taxing on his body than the undulating venues where he has played in 2022.
August National is notorious for the hills, and Southern “Hills” as the name implies was enough for the 15-time major champion to call it quits after only 54 holes.
Wood is looking to knock off the rust this week in Ireland at the Adare Manor with those in the Open Championship field that also have taken some time off.
LIV: Portland to Ireland
The players who joined the LIV Golf tour will be on the grounds and playing with some of their former co-members on the PGA and DP World Tours.
In the field this week fresh off the Portland LIV event are:
Dustin Johnson
Bryson DeChambeau
Brooks Koepka
Martin Kaymer
Graeme McDowell
Pat Perez
Ian Poulter
Lee Westwood
It will be interesting to see how that group is received considering how vocal some of the players who have stayed and left have been to those who are now on the other side. Verbal grenades have been volleyed by both sides over the last few weeks heading into the Open Championship and now they meet face to face for the first time prior to the final major championship of the year.
The members who left for LIV have been barred from competing at next week’s Scottish Open, with the 16 member of the DP World Tour that defected have threatened legal action against the formerly name European Tour.
Keith Pelley the CEO of the DP World Tour gave a scathing rebuke of those that left for LIV in response to the legal action taken.
Earlier in the week the PGA and DP World Tours agreed to a “strategic alliance” for 13 years between the two bodies in response to the growing threat of LIV Golf to their membership.
Paul Casey was announced as the latest PGA/DP World Tour member to join the LIV Golf family. Casey will be making his first appearance as part of the LIV Golf despite not yet competing in one of the Saudi-backed events.
One of the fan favorites on both the PGA and DP World Tours due to his infectious personality its interesting to see how he will be received as he is joining forces with some of the more villainous personalities that have departed the PGA to join the LIV Golf series.
Notables in the field from the PGA Tour
Jon Rahm
Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Justin Thomas
Patrick Cantlay
Harold Varner III
Matt Fitzpatrick
Xander Schauffele
Jordan Spieth
Justin Rose
Shane Lowry
Sam Burns
Tommy Fleetwood
Rickie Fowler
How To Watch
The JP McManus Pro-Am can be streamed on Peacock at 9 am est.