Yahoo News Tiger Woods says his body feels good for what would be Masters week
Tiger Woods would have been at Augusta National this week defending his Masters title if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t wiped the spring sports calendar clean.
And he would have been healthy and ready to do it. In an interview with GOLFTV released Thursday, Woods said he feels far better than he did in February when he played his last tournament.
Woods: Turning coronavirus negative into positive
Woods, 44, last competed on Feb. 16 when he hosted the Genesis Invitational and finished last among players who made the cut. He then skipped two tournaments he normally would have played in due to the back issues that have plagued him in recent years.
He told GOLFTV the difference is “night and day” from that tournament to now.
“I feel a lot better than I did then. I’ve been able to turn a negative to a positive and been able to train a lot. Been able to get my body back to where I think it should be at.”
Woods, who has been quarantining in Jupiter Island, Florida, said he’s been able to play at the Medalist Golf Club, the only one that is still open. The golfers are practicing social distancing by allowing only one person in a cart and they aren’t allowed to touch the rakes or flags. His only other tournament in 2020 was January’s Farmers Insurance Open, where he placed tied for ninth.
Not how Woods wanted to keep green jacket
Routine set in for Woods and he said he felt both energetic and irritable last weekend. He realized it was because he would have been traveling to Augusta, Georgia, for the Drive, Chip & Putt event that was canceled as was the amateur women’s event.
He agrees with the decision to postpone, but it’s tough not to defend golf’s greatest honor.
“This is not the way that I wanted to keep the jacket for a longer period of time,” Woods said. “I wanted to get out there and compete for it again like I did in ’02.”
The Masters are rescheduled for Nov. 12-15.
Woods most misses Masters dinner
Woods said he most missed being at the Masters champion’s dinner this week since he and fellow golfers know how difficult it is to get there in the first place.
All of the living winners gather on the eve of the tournament for a meal at the course planned by the previous year’s winner. Since it couldn’t happen this year, Woods hosted the dinner for his family “quarantine style.”
He told GOLFTV it was the exact dinner he would have served. The photo he shared on social media included steak fajitas, sushi and sashimi, cupcakes and milkshakes.
The meal ended a little differently than it would have it it had taken place at Augusta. He said a cupcake food fight broke out with icing all over.
He added that he took the green jacket off before it got that point.
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