Tiger Woods: I can hit the golf ball, but I cannot walk

Tiger Woods withdrew from the Hero World Challenge. He addressed his injury, the split in the golf world, the faulty OWGR system and more.

FILE PHOTO: Golf - The 150th Open Championship - Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland, Britain - July 15, 2022 Tiger Woods of the U.S. acknowledges the fans after holing on the 18th and finishing his second round REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo | Photo Credit: RUSSELL CHEYNE

Tiger Woods made the tough decision to withdraw from the Hero World Challenge (HWC). Woods, who has not played a tour event since the Open Championship in July, will continue to serve as the host of the HWC.

A foot injury (plantar fasciitis) has forced Woods to pull out. Speaking to the media here, Woods said, “It was a tough decision. I want to play. I can hit the golf ball, but I cannot walk. I’ve had a few setbacks over the years that I’ve been able to play through. But with this one, I just cannot. As I walked more, the worst it got. Only time and treatment can heal me.”

Woods, 46, spoke at length about the split in the golf world caused by LIV Golf. Woods explained that a peaceful solution is possible, provided LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman exits the stage.

“There is an opportunity if both organisations put a stay on the litigations. There is no willingness to negotiate if there is a litigation issue. And first of all, Greg has to go. Then we can talk freely,” Woods said.

Woods admitted that the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system used by the PGA Tour is flawed and needs improvement.

Tiger Woods and Hero MotoCorp Chairman Pawan Munjal at Albany. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“The OWGR is a flawed system. That’s something we can all recognize. The field at Dubai (DP World Tour Championship) got less points than Sea Island, and more of the top players were there in Dubai. How do you fix it? The main tours that are involved have to come up with a better system than what is in place now,” Woods said.

LIV Golf offers tremendous financial reward to players, but Woods explained that the PGA tour boasts of a proven legacy.

“We cannot compete dollar for dollar with LIV Golf. But what we can do is talk about better opportunities for younger players getting onto the Tour, what it means to play on the Tour, and how important it is to have a legacy and be able to win major championships. They (players who have switched to LIV Golf) are taking a chance of never ever, ever getting a chance to play in major championships. So where does your legacy stand? Players who switched to LIV Golf might say ‘I went on the tour and made a lot of money, but I never got to win any tournaments that are of value that would put me in the Hall of Fame’. You want to compare yourself to (Ben) Hogan, (Sam) Snead, and (Jack) Nicklaus. You can’t do that over there, but you can on this tour.” Woods said.