After making history at the Masters, Tiger Woods is preparing to play at the PGA Championship for the first time in two years as the year’s second major returns to Valhalla Golf Club
Tiger Woods will be at Valhalla Golf Course early this week for a scouting mission ahead of the PGA Championship.
Woods, 48, has an exemption as a former winner of the year’s second major, taking the title four times between 1999 and 2007. Valhalla hosted the second of those successes in 2000 as he defended his crown in a playoff over Bob May. Eight years later, the Ryder Cup was also there, but Woods did not play as he recovered from knee surgery.
The US PGA returned to the Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2014 as Rory McIlroy won his fourth and most recent major. Woods failed to make the cut, shooting back-to-back three-over 74 rounds to miss the weekend.
A decade on, Woods will scout the site of his fifth major win on Monday, as reported by TWLegion. The trip comes a week out from play getting underway, and all but confirms he will play the 106th edition of the tournament.
Woods was not at Oak Hill last year, as it took place a month after having fusion surgery on his right ankle. He did play the previous year at Southern Hills but withdrew following the third round with soreness.
During an appearance on the American morning television show Today last week, Woods shared his upcoming schedule plans. “The next three months, I have three majors, and hopefully that’ll all work out,” he said on 1 May.
Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship for the second time at Valhalla Golf Club in 2000 ( Image: David Cannon/Allsport)
One person hoping it will all work out is Nicklaus, who believes Woods could enjoy some success back at Valhalla. “Could he be competitive? If he can walk the 72 holes, then sure he can,” Nicklaus told Golf Digest earlier this month.
“He’ll be competitive at least two rounds because that’s what he did at Augusta. And whether he’s competitive in the third … if he is competitive in the third, then he certainly will be competitive in the fourth. It’s sort of a progression in how you work.”
Nicklaus also stated: “Tiger has the ability to still play. He doesn’t play, obviously, quite as well as he did, but I think a lot of that is his physical ailments.
“I think there’s a question about that. But I’ve watched him hit balls a little bit and watched him play a little bit lately. He hits the ball pretty well. It’s just trying to keep his body together while he plays, particularly having to walk.”
Woods has acknowledged those limitations since the Masters. “I’m just going to keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing,” he has said.
“Hopefully, the practice sessions will keep getting longer.” The practice for Valhalla starts with a Monday scouting mission when Woods will familiarise himself with the club, which features a relatively flat course, notably on the front nine, that should aid him in walking around.
