The scorecard didn’t show many positives, especially over the last 36 holes. But Tiger Woods called his 26th Masters appearance a “good week” despite finishing solo in 60th place at 16 over.
He set an Augusta American record with 24 consecutive cuts and completed 72 holes at a major tournament for the first time in two years. Occasional glimmers appeared, but also signs of age and lingering pain.
Either way, Woods has his sights set on the next major tournament in mid-May, the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I am about to [need to] Woods talked about what he has to do to prepare for Valhalla.
“I hope the practice time will be longer in the future.”
Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla in an epic playoff with Bob May. And in his last PGA at this course, in 2014, Woods missed out.
“We’re going to do some homework on Valhalla, Pinehurst and Troon, but that’s the game plan,” Woods added.
“I heard there are some changes at some upcoming sites. So I have to get up early and check them out.”
One month after the world’s best players converged on Kentucky, the U.S. Open will be held at Pinehurst No. 2 in mid-June. The North Carolina course also hosted the National Championships in 1999, 2005 and 2014.
Woods did not play in the 2014 U.S. Open, but tied for third and finished second solo in 1999 and 2005, respectively.
The British Open Championship then returns to Royal Troon in Scotland in July. Woods also hopes to play there, which would correlate with a hypothetical plan he made for December’s Hero World Challenge.
At that point, Woods said he wanted to play “once a month.” Major League Baseball has adjusted accordingly, and now that he’s finished 72 holes on one of the toughest terrains in golf, that seems even more likely.
Regarding this year’s Masters, Woods said his biggest challenge this week was not his illness but the strong winds.
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“The wind here and how it affected golf shots, balls, and putting, the difficulty of playing the course, [that was the biggest challenge]” said Woods.
“It doesn’t take much to get out of position here. Unfortunately I got out of position quite a bit. [on Saturday] and several times [on Sunday]”
Woods had the worst round of his Masters career Saturday with a 10-over 82.
In Sunday’s final round, Woods had “the worst ride in golf” on the fifth hole and finished with a 5-over 77. He hit his tee shot into a tree, couldn’t get relief, and had to rehit his tee shot. That led to a triple bogey and a perfect example of being thrown out of position.
Still, Woods remained optimistic after his round.
“Overall it was a good week,” Woods said.
“I haven’t played a full tournament in a long time since I came here, but I thought we had a good fight on Thursday and Friday. [Saturday] It didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.And like Tom did today [Kim] was playing, so I assumed I had it in my system. Unfortunately, I didn’t produce it. ”
Kim shot a 6-under 66, one of the lowest rounds of the week.
But now Woods, and the golf world, knows he can complete 72 holes. The question here is whether he still has “the one” inside of him.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
