Tiger Woods ‘feeling better’ ahead of return at BMW Championship
Written by News on 15/08/2019
Tiger Woods believes his body is ready to return to action ahead of his bid to extend his PGA Tour season at the BMW Championship.
The former world No 1 has played just 13 competitive rounds since claiming a 15th major title at the Masters in April, missing the cut at The Open and withdrawing mid-tournament from last week’s Northern Trust.
Woods struggled to an opening-round 75 at Liberty National last Thursday before pulling out with ‘a mild oblique strain’, with the 43-year-old believing the decision helped with his latest recovery.
When asked about how he was feeling, Woods told the media on Wednesday: “Yeah, way better. It was nice to take those days off. I had to just let it calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it, and it feels so much better.
“I played the front nine today and played well, which was nice to see, nice to feel. Took the back nine off, chipped and putted quite a bit. Definitely doesn’t feel like it did on Friday, that’s for sure!
“The forces have got to go somewhere, and unfortunately when I make any kind of tweaks and changes to my swing, it’s like a new body part is aching. Unfortunately, I can’t play around the back like I used to, and unfortunately things flare up.
“I tried to make tweaks all year, trying to ease the stress off my back while I was still playing. Unfortunately, I haven’t really done a very good job of that.”
Woods heads into the penultimate play-off 48th in the FedExCup standings, leaving him likely to require a top-11 finish at the no-cut event if he’s to defend his Tour Championship title next week.
“I’m trying to win this tournament just like anybody else in this field and trying to get to East Lake and trying to get to a place where a lot of things changed for me last year, and hopefully I can make that happen,” Woods added.
“I’m hoping to put myself in the top eight [in the Presidents Cup standings]. Right now I’m seeded 12th, and I’m trying like hell to try and make the team on my own. I obviously have some work to do.
“Got to play well this week to make that happen. But if not, then it’s going to come down to the top eight guys, myself and my vice captains about who are the next four slots.
“Whether that’s me and three other guys or it’s just four other guys, either way I’m going to Australia. It’s just whether I’m going to be playing or not.”
Watch the BMW Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 3pm via the red button on Sky Sports Golf.
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Tiger Woods ‘feeling better’ ahead of return at BMW Championship
