Tiger Woods News

The hairline under his Nike cap is receding, and the aches and pains from years of pounding golf balls are more apparent. It used to be nothing for Tiger Woods to train by running six to 10 miles, then doing it again the next day.

“Now I need another day off,” he said.
Ah, Tiger is getting old.
He turns 30 Friday.
And next month, he will begin his 10th full season on the PGA Tour.
But that hardly suggests any sort of dropoff is imminent. Woods, who is coming off a six-victory season that saw him win two major championships, knows all about golf history.
“If you look at most of the guys’ careers, it looks like their peak years are in their 30s,” Woods said. “Hopefully that will be the case for me. Hopefully my 30s will be better than my 20s. That would be pretty neat to have happen.”
And it would be pretty amazing. Because Woods put together in his 20s a run of excellence that has been surpassed by only six players in PGA Tour history during their entire careers.
Woods’ 46 official wins rank seventh behind Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and Billy Casper. Woods’ 10 major championships trail only Nicklaus’ 18 on the preceding list. (Walter Hagen, who won 44 times, captured 11 majors.)
Not only did Woods win the Masters and British Open in 2005, he contended at the U.S. Open, where he finished second by two shots to Michael Campbell, and at the PGA Championship, where he tied for fourth, two shots behind Phil Mickelson.
Although Woods pointed out that the competition is better than ever, he hits his 30th birthday as the undisputed No. 1 player in the world.
And because golf is a game that allows players to prosper into their 30s and even their 40s, there is reason to believe his greatness can be sustained.
Nicklaus, who won 30 times before turning 30, enjoyed his greatest stretch after turning 31. From 1971 to 1973, Nicklaus won 19 times, including four majors. Nicklaus also won six majors after turning 35, including three after turning 40. One was the 1986 Masters, when Nicklaus was 46.
“How do you compare what he’s doing, because nobody has ever done what he’s doing,” Nicklaus said this year. “He’s dominated way beyond how anybody’s ever dominated.”
Palmer is one who believes Woods will learn to manage his strength. And he also thinks that getting married and having a family can help rather than hinder Woods as he continues.
“Between now and 35 could be the absolute best years of his life,” Palmer said.
Palmer is proof. Between the age of 30 and 35, he earned 31 of his 62 PGA Tour titles. He also won six of his seven major championships after turning 30.

Source - IndyStar.com

Tiger Woods will take some time off after celebrating his 30th birthday at the end of the month before starting his 2006 season in late January.
The world number one will begin his year at the Buick Invitational in California on 26 January.

Woods, who will miss the season-opener in Hawaii to “recharge his batteries”, turns 30 on 30 December.

“I never thought I’d win 10 majors in my 20s. Hopefully, my best years are still ahead of me,” said the American.

“I don’t feel old but I have been grinding on the PGA Tour for almost 10 years, which is pretty scary.”

Woods took his tally of major wins to 10 last season with victories at the Masters and the Open.

“I played a full schedule this year and never took an extended break,” he said on his official website.

“I need some time to recharge my batteries, let my body heal and hang out with family and friends.”

Source - Pakistan Link

TIGER Woods will underline his stature as a global golfer when he returns to action from a winter break at the end of January by teeing up on the PGA Tour at the Buick in California before jetting out to the Gulf and challenging Europe’s best golfers at the Desert Classic in Dubai.

Having played his last event as a twentysomething earlier this month, Woods opted to take an extended rest from the game over the holiday period to spend time with friends and family. Preparing to spend a first Christmas with his wife, Elin, Tiger will be also concerned for his father, Earl, who has suffered from poor health lately.

The world No 1 confirmed yesterday that he will begin next season at the Buick Invitational from 26-29 January in La Jolla after skipping his usual early-season events to “recharge my batteries”.

Woods, who increased his tally of major wins to ten in 2005 thanks to victories in Augusta at the Masters and the Open at St Andrews, is determined to avoid burn-out.

“I played a full schedule this year and never took an extended break,” he said. “I need some time to recharge my batteries, let my body heal and hang out with family and friends.”

Woods celebrates his 30th birthday on 30 December. “Although my friends keep reminding me, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he added. “I don’t feel old, but I have been grinding on the PGA Tour for almost ten years, which is pretty scary.”

When he first indicated he wouldn’t take part in the US PGA Tour’s season opening event in Hawaii, Woods explained: “I just need some time away from the game. It’s been a long season and I have played a lot of golf. I need a break.”

Tiger, of course, has long been a critic of the inordinate length of the golf season. Because there isn’t a month in the year when the sun doesn’t shine somewhere in America, the game only pauses to draw breath around Christmas and New Year.

That said, because of Woods’ importance in attracting TV viewers to watch professional golf in America, his influence on the PGA Tour’s decision makers is significant. Starting from 2007, the US Tour will introduce a radically altered schedule which means the top players won’t have to compete beyond September.

Restored to the peak of his powers in 2005, Woods derived much satisfaction from a year in which he won two majors, stretched his advantage over Vijay Singh at the summit of the world rankings and led the US money list with earnings of more than $10.6 million (£6.1m).

Not since the brilliance of 1999 had Woods performed so impressively. Long but not always straight off the tee, the truth is the world No 1 rarely puts himself in unplayable positions. Tiger’s brain power always manages to figure out an escape route, no matter how improbable.

It’s in the area of course management that Woods believes he’s made the greatest progress. As he looks forward to the milestone birthday, Tiger is pleasantly surprised by the scale of the success in his twenties.

“I’m very excited about turning 30. Maybe the best is yet to come because physically you’re not going to change a whole lot in your early to mid-30s, but you benefit from sheer experience, learning how to manage your round.”

Asked if 2005 was one of the best seasons of his career to date, Woods replied: “Probably, yeah. I think 1999 is pretty close. I was in contention at all the majors, won two World Golf Championships and was in contention at other events - and that’s why I made all the changes.”

Apart from the swing changes undertaken with coach Hank Haney, Woods also made a change in his private life this year and married his long-term girlfriend, Elin. He said: “I have a foundation now with my marriage to Elin and it’s been huge for me to have that type of connection off the golf course.”

Although he weighs a couple of stone more now than when he first came on tour, the world No 1 can still boast a taut 30-inch waist. Tiger pioneered the athletic approach and, with others now sharing his enthusiasm for the gym, the emphasis on power golf shows no sign of flagging.

Source - Scotsman.com

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) — Tiger Woods will begin his season at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, California on January 26, after skipping his usual early-season event.

The world number one, who took his tally of major wins to 10 last season with victories at the U.S. Masters and British Open, will miss the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.

“I need some time to recharge my batteries,” he said.

“I played a full schedule this year and never took an extended break. I need to let my body heal and hang out with family and friends,” he said on his website.

Woods’s next tournament will be the Dubai Desert Classic, which is part of the European Tour, early in February.

Woods will be 30 on December 30. “Although my friends keep reminding me, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said.

“I don’t feel old but I have been grinding on the PGA Tour for almost 10 years, which is pretty scary.

“I never thought I’d win 10 major championships in my twenties because that’s never happened before. Hopefully, my best years are still ahead of me.”

Source - CNN.com

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were the most vocal about wanting a shorter season on the PGA Tour, although their motives don’t appear to be anything alike.
Mickelson has been MIA since the Presidents Cup. He did play two more official events, although not many realized he was at Harding Park (tied for 29th), and he didn’t stay long in Las Vegas (missed cut). Lefty also played the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii, but not before stiffing the sponsors by not showing up for the pro-am.

Woods’ busiest time of the year came after the year ended.

From the Tour Championship in Atlanta, he went to Shanghai to Japan to Hawaii to Palm Springs before ending his season at his Target World Challenge. Woods then said he needed an offseason, so he chose to take time off during the regular season by skipping Kapalua.

The PGA Tour often boasts that its players are independent contractors, which makes the need for a shorter season somewhat curious. Because if that’s the case – and using Woods and Mickelson as examples – then these independent contractors can make their season as long or as short as they want.

But maybe this isn’t about the players.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in August that change was necessary to keep golf compelling in a saturated sports market, and the solution was to create a blockbuster finish. Whether that works remains to be seen; most casual fans only care about four tournaments each year, anyway.

If there is something good that comes out of a shorter season, the hope is that more Americans will use the extra time to see the world.

The PGA Tour is the biggest and best, if not the richest. Television now brings the stars to living rooms in faraway outposts. Still, there is no greater stimulus for growth than when starved fans overseas can watch players in person.

“There have been very few years when I haven’t gone out of the country to play an event or two,” said Jim Furyk, who usually heads to South Africa. “It’s interesting to go to new places where fans haven’t seen you play. The reaction to my swing is like stepping back in time 10 years ago.”

The World Golf Championships were not the answer. Even in its infancy, a dozen top Americans did not go to Spain in 2000 for the American Express Championship, prompting Stuart Appleby to needle the Yankees with this classic line: “They’re like a bag of prawns on a hot Sunday. They don’t travel well.”

One of the letters Michael Campbell received after winning the U.S. Open – the first player from New Zealand since Bob Charles in 1963 to win a major – came from Jack Nicklaus.

“He said to me, ‘Michael, from now on you have responsibilities to promote this game around the world.’ And that’s what I’m doing,” Campbell said. “I think it’s important for guys to go around the world and promote this game. I want to share my success with people from different parts of the world.”

Woods gets plenty of respect for his game, but also for his willingness to travel.

Don’t get hung up on appearance money. It’s part of the game, and always has been. Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Curtis Strange and Greg Norman all cashed in, as are Woods, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

But at least they go.

“I’m sure the world golf population would like to see more guys travel,” Thomas Bjorn said. “But as long as one guy travels, that’s all we need. Golf around the world is Tiger Woods.”

Why should anyone else go?

“They miss out by not seeing the world, for their own good,” Bjorn said. “I can understand why they don’t. They’ve got it very good here, and they get a lot of things delivered to them. … But you learn that the world is a better place than we make it out to be. There’s a lot of really good people, genuine people. You don’t understand that until you go to all corners of the world.”

David Toms, Chris DiMarco, Jerry Kelly and Mike Weir understand. They traveled extensively when they had no other place to play. Toms doesn’t get out much now, and doesn’t apologize. He spent the last three years on the PGA Tour policy board, and believes his support should start at home.

“I’ve turned down plenty of money to go other places,” he said. “One, I don’t care for the travel. Two, if it’s one of the weeks I’m not going to be home, I’d rather it be on our tour than somewhere in the world.”

That said, Toms has never missed a WGC event played overseas, even going to Australia over the holidays in 2001 for the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Clearly, travel is a way of life for international players.

Els had to leave South Africa, and made his first trip out of the country when he was 14. He came to San Diego for the Junior World and beat a local teenager named Phil Mickelson. The European tour schedule is so global that more events are in China than Scotland.

David Howell got a late invitation to the Target World Challenge and came without giving it a second thought. When it was mentioned that London to Los Angeles was a 10-hour flight, he shrugged.

“But it’s not a big flight. We don’t see it like that,” he said. “There’s a golf tournament, you go play.”

Americans don’t always see it that way.

“We fully understand why the guys don’t travel because they have it so good at home,” Howell said. “For the good of the game, the more times top players turn up together at good tournaments around the world, the better it is for the game.”

Starting in 2007, they will have ample time.

Source - SignOnSanDiego.com