Tiger Woods beefs up 2017 schedule after long hiatus

            Tiger Woods has just announced additions to his 2017 schedule, this week he has committed to three more events in the next two months.  Woods played in his own event last month, The Chevron World Challenge and had not played competitively in 15 months as he recovered from multiple surgeries.

Last fall Woods had committed to play three events including the Chevron World Challenge, however he would end up pulling out of the Safeway Open and Turkish Airlines open as he felt his game was not up to speed and “vulnerable.”  In his annual Chevron World Challenge, Woods finished 15^th in the 18 man field after a mediocre performance but appeared to be ready to compete.  While his total score was in the bottom percentile of the small field, Woods made more birdies than anyone else in the field during the four rounds which to his fans was an encouraging sign.

Now Woods has committed to play four events in five weeks, something he has not done in quite some time.  If Woods does in fact play in all four events, the five week stretch should be a good indicator of his health and ability play and compete on the world stage.  Since making his return to competition last month, Woods had committed to play in the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in February before adding the Farmers Insurance Open, the Honda Classic, and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to his schedule.  Woods has not played in the Dubai Desert Classic since 2014, the European Tour event always has a strong field which includes most of, if not all the world’s best players and should reveal Woods’ readiness to play against the best and hottest players on the world stage.

Provided things go smoothly, many expect to see Woods at this year’s Masters as well as other events that he usually plays in, such as the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational in March.  Woods will make his 2017 January 26^th in San Diego at the Farmers’ Insurance Open.