Tiger Woods: Skipping Sentry Tournament of Champions the right call

Tiger Woods is reportedly set to skip the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first event of 2019 to be played January 3-6. Based on the way Woods’s 2018 season finished, it’s definitely the smartest, safest choice.

The Tiger Woods watch will have to wait at least a few more weeks. In a disappointing – if unsurprising – move, Woods is reportedly going to skip the Sentry Tournament of Champions next week at Kapalua Plantation.

Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson Tweeted the news out this morning, and ESPN’s Bob Harig confirmed the news in his own column.

Tiger peeps tell Kapalua peeps that he won't be playing, spending more time with family over the holidays.
— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) December 27, 2018

According to the reports, Woods is looking to spend more time with his family as the holiday season winds down. This part is more than understandable, especially considering the fact that Tiger said in his recovery from his most recent back surgery that he was focused as much on being able to enjoy his children as he was on returning to regular PGA TOUR competition.

While many of us hoped that part of this “new Tiger” would also include an insatiable desire to get right back in the mix in 2019, it seems that he’s still got some planning to do before he jumps in head first again. The Tournament of Champions is far from a high-pressure event, as an invitational with only winners from the previous season included. But it does involve significant travel time, as well as a four-day commitment coming off a long holiday layoff.

That’s part of the reason why Woods hasn’t played the event since 2005. He’s always been the type to focus on building for the four majors, and he has also acknowledged that he needs to plan his schedule a little better in 2019 than he did last year.

Woods played 18 official events in 2018, including playing in seven of nine weeks to end the season through the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Of course, he also played in the Ryder Cup in Paris, and in his own event, the Hero World Challenge. Here’s what he had to say in the Bahamas:

"“The only thing set in stone after this is that I’m playing Genesis [at Riviera Feb. 14-17] and the four majors,” Woods said. “Other than that, we’re still taking a look at what is too much. Seven of the last nine to end my season was too much.”"

The Genesis Open is no surprise, as it’s hosted by Woods’s TGR Foundation. However, you’d have to be a fool to expect him to skip the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in late January. With the new tournament lineup this year, there’s also a likely four-week stretch from February to March that would see Woods play at the WGC-Mexico Championship, the Honda Classic, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, and THE PLAYERS Championship.

More from Pro Golf Now

Perhaps he could skip the trip to either Mexico or PGA National, but I’d expect him to play all those events. The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is just two weeks after THE PLAYERS, and then there’s a two-week gap up to the Masters. That’s six potential tournaments in an eight-week span, which has to be pushing his limits even early in the year.

Perhaps the best chance for an extended break of any real importance on Woods’s calendar is between the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, as he’d likely only play once in the four-week run-up to Royal Portrush. That might be the new 3M Open in Minnesota over the Independence Day weekend, leaving a two-week window to prep for The Open.

Next. What's next for Phil Mickelson in 2019?. dark

At this point, trying to guess at a potential “Tiger Woods calendar” outside of the majors might be an exercise in futility, considering how much can change on short notice. But the reality we’re all seeing today is how serious Tiger is about maintaining his body for top performance all year. It would have been easy to go to Hawaii for a no-cut event with guaranteed FedEx Cup points, but he’s playing the long game.

If history is any teacher in this sense, I’m going to trust the guy with 14 major titles to his name. Seems like a smart play to me.

Home/Tiger Woods News