UPDATE: We’ve gotten some clarity on Woods’s upcoming 2019 schedule. That includes:
WGC-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY, March 27-31
THE MASTERS, April 11-14
It also means Woods will be skipping the Valspar Championship in Tampa, plus taking a week off in between his trips to Austin and Augusta. You can read the original post below for further predictions.
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Tiger Woods announced at last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship that he would be skipping the upcoming Honda Classic, a difficult decision given the event is at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., which is nearly in Woods’s backyard. But without playing five weeks in a row, skipping the Honda felt like Woods’s only option. So where will we see the 14-time major champion going forward? Let’s take a look at the schedule and figure it out.
BAY HILL, March 7-10
Yes, he’ll be there. The decision to forgo the Honda in favor of Bay Hill reaffirmed what we already knew — Woods is unlikely to ever, ever skip Arnie’s event. He’ll likely head up to Orlando on Tuesday, March 5 to gear up for the week’s action.
In his words: “I’ve won eight times at Bay Hill,” Woods pointed out Thursday. Enough said.
Unfortunately, due to the schedule this year, I cannot play all the events I want to. I will be taking next week off and playing in the @APinv and @THEPLAYERSChamp. Sorry to miss seeing Jack and everyone at Honda.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 21, 2019
THE PLAYERS, March 14-17
Double yes. Despite whatever Phil Mickelson was saying about the Players being skippable, Woods has always placed valued on the event and has had plenty of success at TPC Sawgrass, including two wins.
In his words: “Well, I take a lot of pride in playing well in the biggest events. So that being obviously the majors, THE PLAYERS, and the World Golf Championships.”
VALSPAR, March 21-24
Unlikely – but not impossible. Woods has gone out of his way to be complimentary of his experience at Innisbrook last year, but returning to the site of his T2 would mean playing at least three weeks in a row. Woods added the Tampa event last minute after he’d missed the cut at the Genesis to get some extra reps in. That’s no concern this year.
In his words: “I had an unbelievable week last year…So it gets very complicated. That’s what I’m trying to figure out, how much to play, how much is too much, how much is not enough, and at the end of the day being race ready enough for April and making sure I get enough competitive rounds. That’s one of the reasons why I put in Tampa last year after I missed the cut in L.A., to make sure I get some rounds in and be race ready. This year’s even more complicated. I feel better, but I’ve got four events right there in my state that I live in and it gets very complicated.”
WGC-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY, March 27-31
Yes – we think. If there’s anything to be learned from Woods’s first-time stop in Mexico City, it’s that he values WGCs (and the points associated). A strong showing in Austin could get this year’s Presidents Cup captain that much closer to qualifying for his own team come December.
In his words: “I’ve won eight times at Bay Hill and a couple times at THE PLAYERS, and I loved my time last year in Tampa, and maybe roll into Match Play. So it’s still a work in progress, I haven’t figured it all out. Try to 3 Tee-Scripts.com figure out what is best to play and be ready come April.”
THE MASTERS, April 11-14
Yeah, duh.
In his words: According to Woods, his prep for Augusta “started probably back in October, November, so yeah…”
WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP, May 2-5
Yeah, probably. This event’s spot on the new schedule make it the perfect tune-up for the PGA Championship two weeks later, and given Woods is unlikely to wander close to the RBC Heritage, the Zurich Classic or the Byron Nelson, this seems like a slam-dunk.
In his words: “They made some adjustments and made this golf course more difficult, harder, longer, and you can see why they hosted a PGA here,” Woods said last year, when he struggled on the greens en route to a T55.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, May 16-19
Yup. It’s a major. Don’t even need to hear from TW on this one.
THE MEMORIAL, May 30-June 2
Woods won’t skip Arnie’s event in Orlando, and he won’t skip Jack’s event in Columbus. Muirfield Village has been plenty hospitable to Woods throughout his career, and he threatened to contend before late mistakes saw him slip to T23 last year.
U.S. OPEN, June 13-16
Watching Tiger Woods attack Pebble Beach 19 years after his 15-shot victory is guaranteed to be a treat. Everything about Pebble this year will be a treat. It’s Pebble Beach! It’s the U.S. Open!
Predicting beyond Pebble feels a bit guess-y several months out. Will he add an event before heading to Portrush for the British Open? Will he jet back to get into the WGC in Tennessee? And will he play all three playoff events? I’d lean towards “yes” on all three of those – but we’ll see. Plan travel accordingly, Tiger fans. And in the meantime, enjoy the Florida Swing.
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