FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods decided to stay away from Bethpage Black Wednesday on the eve of the 101st PGA Championship.
Woods practiced on property Tuesday and planned to play nine holes Wednesday. But he never arrived to the course one day before his 8:24 a.m. tee time with Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari.
“He’s all good. Just getting some rest,” said agent Mark Steinberg, who noted that Woods played the course last week. “All is good.”
Woods already strayed from his usual pre-major routine by skipping the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago, stating he wasn’t ready to get back out on the course at Quail Hollow in the aftermath of his Masters victory. He’s also said multiple times that he plans to play less often in 2019 and so far he’s done just that.
“That’s going to be the interesting part going forward,” Woods said. “How much do I play and how much do I rest? I think I’ve done a lot of the legwork and the hard work already, trying to find my game over the past year and a half. Now I think it’s just maintaining it. I know that I feel better when I’m fresh. The body doesn’t respond like it used to, doesn’t bounce back quite as well, so I’ve got to be aware of that.”
Wednesday’s absence means he’ll enter the PGA Championship having played just nine practice holes this week. Woods played the front nine early Monday morning and that will be all until the scores start to count Thursday. Woods usually plays at least 18 holes the week of a major, which he did at Augusta National, but he’s plenty familiar with the course. Woods won the 2002 U.S. Open here when Bethpage first hosted a major and was T-6 at the 2009 U.S Open.
Woods also practiced less than anticipated ahead of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive, taking Monday off and playing just a handful of holes Tuesday due to rain. Facing numerous questions about his health and preparation, Woods finished second and set the stage for his 15th career major win at Augusta National.
Can he do it again this week? We’ll get our first indication Thursday morning as Woods finally returns to action following his post-Masters victory lap.
