“If I thought I couldn’t win, I wouldn’t have participated in the tournament. I would have just played the role of host.”

The voice of Tiger Woods (USA), the ‘golf emperor’ who returned to the field after 7 months, was full of confidence.

On the 15th (Korean time), the official press conference for the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars) was held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, USA. Questions poured in toward Woods. The most important thing is whether or not to recover from the injury and the goal of participating in the competition.

Regarding this, Woods replied in a bright voice, “My legs are in better shape than last year. Every day is difficult, but I am gaining strength. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten much better.” “Basically, everything about golf has started again. I’m excited to be able to compete and play on the field tomorrow,” he said. It’s a challenge for me. You might get inflammation in your ankles.”

After seriously injuring his leg in a car accident in February 2021, he only competed in three major tournaments last year. Masters made the cut (47th), but withdrew from the PGA Championship and missed the cut in the Open. It is the first time in two years and four months since the Jojo Championship in October 2020 that Woods will compete in a general PGA Tour event. At the time, he had tied the record for most wins on the PGA Tour with 82 wins.

There was also a person who recently stimulated Woods. Lebron James set a new career scoring record in American professional basketball. “I grew up watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s performance,” said Woods. I was surprised again by his ability to not be pushed back in the competition.” 메이저놀이터

Woods, who is currently tied for first place with Sam Sneed on the PGA Tour with 82 victories, also has a desire to become the protagonist of a ‘new record’. Woods emphasized, “There will come a time when I can’t compete for the championship. But right now, there is no such thing as a ‘contest ambassador’ in my DNA.” It will fit,” he said vigorously. He continued, “My hero, Arnold Palmer, competed in the Masters even though he was 50. I am not 50 yet.”

The basis of his confidence is the completeness of his rehabilitation. “Many people helped me. Thanks to that, I was able to improve my condition enough to compete in the competition. I want to compete for championships by participating in as many competitions as possible,” he said.

The first and second rounds of the tournament were played with ‘Woods’ reinforcements’. It seems to be the consideration of the Organizing Committee. Woods was grouped with ‘best friends’ Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Justin Thomas (USA) in the first and second rounds of the Genesis Championship.