Tiger Woods explains decision to play through new injury

Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods has already skipped one tournament due to injury in the last month, and may have made it two if not for some unique circumstances.

Woods will play in this weekend’s PNC Championship in Orlando despite a noticeable limp stemming from his issues with plantar fasciitis. He is doing so despite the injury, he said, because of the opportunity to play with his 13-year-old son Charlie, even at the risk of potentially delaying a full recovery.

“You know, I don’t really care about that,” Woods said, via Mark Schlabach of ESPN. “I think being there with and alongside my son is far more important, and [getting] to have a chance to have this experience with him is far better than my foot being a little creaky.

“Any time I get a chance to spend time with my son, it’s always special. And to do it in a competitive forum, the last couple of years have been magical, and to be able to do it again, we’re looking forward to it.”

Woods and his son have played in the family tournament twice before, but their status was thrown into some doubt by Tiger’s physical issues. The foot issue is severe enough that he pulled out of one tournament last month. The problem is in his right foot, the same leg that he nearly needed amputated after his February 2021 car crash.

Woods said he will go back to resting the injury after the PNC Championship, and has not committed to any events beyond this one. One would expect him to want to get healthy for The Masters in April, but that will ultimately come down to how his body responds.