A ‘W’ would be nice, right?” Woods said Wednesday of what he would consider a successful week at Riviera, the course where he made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old high schooler and the one he has played more than any other without a tournament victory.
“Hopefully I can figure something out and get myself in there in contention and maybe get a ‘W’ at the end of the week.”
The familiar course in Pacific Palisades will provide the background for a new-look Woods, who will have a new caddie and new apparel after his decades-long partnership with Nike ended.
“My ankle doesn’t hurt anymore because no bones are rubbing anymore,” he said. “Other parts of my body have to take the brunt of it… other parts of the body have to adapt.”
Woods says he feels it physically “each and every day” but added: “I still love competing, I love playing, I love being a part of the game of golf.
“This is the game of a lifetime and I don’t ever want to stop playing.”
Woods’s fitness will be under as much scrutiny as his game as he embarks on a season in which he has said he’s optimistic he could play one tournament a month.
That could allow him to play all four major championships for the first time since 2019 — the year he claimed his 15th major title at the Masters.
