Tiger Woods knows playing through pain caused by plantar fasciitis in his right foot may not be the best thing for his long-term recovery, but the 15-time major champion says it’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make to compete with his son in this regard. PNC Championship weekend in Orlando, Florida.
Woods and son Charlie were seen limping during Friday’s pro-am at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Tiger said his 13-year-old son sprained his ankle but will be ready to go when they tee off in Saturday’s first round with Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, at 12:17 p.m. ET.
Tiger Woods, who is still recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash outside Los Angeles in February 2021, will be able to use the cart in the 36-hole scramble.
“You know, I don’t really care about that,” said Woods, of possibly delaying his recovery. “I think being there with and being with my son is so much more important, and [getting] having the chance to have this experience with him is so much better than my feet getting a little creaky.”
This will be the third appearance at the event for Tiger and Charlie Woods; they finished seventh in 2020 and were runners-up by 2 shots from John Daly and his son last year.
“Whenever I get the chance to spend time with my son, it’s always special,” says Tiger. “And to do it in a competitive forum, the last few years have been magical, and to be able to do it again, we’re looking forward to it.”
Due to plantar fasciitis, Tiger says he is not ready to commit to the 2023 schedule. He played just nine rounds in three major championships last season. He said having to sleep in protective boots had been “annoying”.
“I did everything,” said Tiger. “It’s frustrating because every day I have to do it, and on top of that trying to sleep in those damn shoes, it’s not fun. My left foot sometimes bleeds from the shoe hitting it. It’s just annoying. It’s one of those things that, hey, I grateful to have this limb and it’s mine. It’s not a prosthetic limb; it’s mine. And, yes, there were some issues with it, but I still have it.”
Woods said his closest friends on the PGA Tour urged him to slow down. He was forced to withdraw from the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas earlier this month due to plantar fasciitis. He played 12 holes with world number 1 Rory McIlroy in a made-for-TV match against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth last week. Woods was also able to use the wagon on the show.
“It’s a lot harder than people imagine,” said Tiger. “There were a few players who were very close to me who knew what I had been through, and they were the ones who kept pushing me to step back a bit. But that’s not in my nature. My nature is to try to get better, and I succeeded. And through my work ethic, I can play and compete in three major championships this year.”
Woods said he would be closing it on Monday and would be resting and recovering. He will then try to improve his game again, possibly before 2023’s first major championship at the Masters at Augusta National in April.
“If I didn’t feel plantar like this, well, I could tell you [how much he’s going to play in 2023] and I had a better idea,” said Woods. “But I should have just rested this thing and stretched and let it heal, but I’m not doing it right now.”
