Despite firing rounds of 72 and 77 in Valhalla, the 15-time Major winner remained upbeat, claiming he is ‘better physically’ than he was a month ago
After a one-over-par first round at Valhalla, Tiger Woods was needing a low second day to make the cut at the PGA Championship. However, following a triple bogey-bogey-triple bogey run early on Friday, Woods went on to add his name to the big list of players who missed the weekend in Kentucky.
Despite the performance, and lack of playing time coming into the second men’s Major of 2024, the 15-time Major winner remains upbeat as his attention turns to the US Open at Pinehurst in June, an event he received a special exemption into in April.
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 57 secondsVolume 0%00:0002:57More Videos PLAY SOUND
Admitting that he is in better physical shape than that of a month ago, Woods stated, following his round on Friday: “It was a great week being here, being here at Valhalla, and unfortunately my scores did not indicate how the people treated me and how great a week I had. Unfortunately, I hit too many shots.
“I got off to a bad start and the rough grabbed me at 2. No sand in the bunker as well. Just made a mistake there. I compounded the problem there at 4. Just kept making mistakes and things you can’t do, not just in tournaments but in Majors especially. And I just kept making them. I hung around for most of the day but unfortunately the damage was done early.
“I just got to… I need to play more. Unfortunately, I just haven’t played a whole lot of tournaments, and not a whole lot of tournaments on my schedule either. Hopefully everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst. Physically, yes, I am better than I was a month ago. I still have more ways to go, lots of improvement to go physically, and hopefully my team and I can get that done pre-Pinehurst and going into it.”
Woods during the second round at the PGA Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Missing just his 14th Major cut in his career, a feat spreading back to 1995, Woods also explained how his time on the PGA Tour Policy Board is going, a position he was appointed to in March 2024.
Despite being part of talks between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the 48-year-old claims it hasn’t impacted his golf, with Woods stating: “They’re both equally important to me, playing and my responsibilities as a player director, whether it’s on policy board or it’s on the enterprise board.
“All three are important in their own different ways. Different ways that, one, for me playing for pride and what I can do out here, but also off the golf course the impact and responsibility that I have as a player director and as a representative of the players and what I can do off the golf course to help this Tour.
“If you ask any of the player directors, we just don’t sleep much. There’s a lot of late nights and zoom calls at odd hours of the night, all throughout the night, and lots of e-mails to read. These are all things that I signed up for as a player director and ways that I can help, and hopefully I can make that impact and we’ve done that so far, and hopefully we can make more of an impact.”
