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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA | A tournament that began so spectacularly – remember how Tiger Woods eagled his first hole of the Genesis Invitational on Thursday? – ended with Woods finishing a lowly 68th at Riviera Country Club.
Moreover, amid his lackluster performance came the unexpected news that Woods will not play in the WGC-Mexico Championship this week.
How big a deal is Woods’ decision to skip Mexico City?
It’s significant for a couple of reasons.
Woods admitted he felt stiff at times at Riviera, and the demands of hosting the tournament were enough of a drain that he didn’t feel up to playing for a second consecutive week. It does not mean Woods’ surgically repaired back is an issue again, but it reinforces the idea that how he feels will dictate his playing schedule.
“The idea is to peak around Augusta time,” Woods said. “I just felt I wasn’t going to be ready for next week, a little run down and playing at altitude as well isn’t going to help that so take the week off.
“I feel stiff but I have weeks like that, especially in the cold mornings. … Don’t quite move as well and that’s just kind of how it’s going to go.”
Woods started brilliantly, shooting 4-under par for his opening nine holes before going flat on his second nine on Thursday. On Saturday, Woods shot 76 and acknowledged the demands of the week had worn on him. Before Thursday, Woods said he hit balls for about 10 minutes in advance of the tournament while playing only his pro-am round.
By skipping the no-cut, limited-field WGC event, Woods will cost himself valuable world ranking points in his quest to qualify for the Olympics in August. The decision also raises the question of when Woods will play next.
It’s possible he will play the Honda Classic next week near his South Florida home. However, that almost certainly would mean he would skip either the subsequent Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he has won eight times, or the Players Championship the following week because he isn’t likely to play three tournaments in a row.
“That’s the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback … How much do I play? When do I play? Do I listen to the boy or do I fight through it?” said Woods, who has played just twice in 2020. “There are some things I can push and some things I can’t. I had a theory that this year I may play about the same amount (as last year). What did I play, 12 times last year? So that’s kind of the number for this year.”
Ron Green Jr.