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Tiger Woods may not be a fan of being called a ‘ceremonial golfer’, but two-time US Open champion Curtis Strange feels it’s something the sporting icon will have to start accepting.
Woods may be playing less and less golf as he approaches his 50th birthday, but his assertion before the Masters that he felt confident in his ability to challenge for a record-equalling sixth green jacket proved he’s not lost any of his competitive spirit.
It’s something that has been the secret to Woods’ incredible success in his career ever since he first burst onto the PGA Tour in the 1990s.
Every tournament the American icon enters he feels capable of winning and, up until just a few years ago, that was still very believable.
But his comments at this year’s Masters were taken with a pinch of salt by many and Strange, who works as an analyst for ESPN’s coverage of golf, feels as though fans are now just happy to see Woods play all four rounds.
Tiger Woods is back for the PGA Championships
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“My question, leading to the Masters as well as this week, was that his adrenaline Thursday will carry him through and I think he’ll hit a lot of good golf shots and then when that adrenaline wears off on Thursday or Friday sometime, can he sustain that energy up,” he told GB News.
“The energy used to come from winning and more than likely he’s not gonna win.
“We want to watch him play four rounds and we want to watch him play.
“Quite honestly, I don’t think people care about what he shoots, they just like to watch him play again.
“If he plays well and makes the cut it’s a victory for everyone.
“He came into the game to win every week. Not to do the best he could or perform as well as he could but to win it.
“That translated into the way players approach it now.
“He really changed the game and the attitude and he continues that attitude and we expect nothing less from him.”
Woods looked shattered at the end of his fourth round at the Masters with the Augusta course taking its toll on his beaten body.
The 48-year-old is now at a crossroads in his career where Strange feels he is “wrestling” with whether he can continue competing with the very best players in the game.
Woods was able to do what players such as Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman and Dustin Johnson couldn’t do at Augusta this year by making the cut.
Tiger Woods looked shattered after the fourth round of the Masters
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And he’ll feel that is proof that he can still mix with the best, but he ended up 16-over par – 27 shots behind eventual winner Scottie Scheffler.
Strange, who won back-to-back US Open titles in 1988 and 1989, feels Woods is coming to a point where he’ll be asking how much longer he’ll compete on the PGA Tour.
And he likened his current situation to golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, the latter of whom played the Masters up until the age of 74.
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Tiger Woods will want to prove he can still compete at the top
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“I think ceremonial golfer has been thrown around,” Strange added.
“He probably hates the term. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that because people just want to see him hit golf balls, watch him play.
“Arnold and Jack always said they would never been a ceremonial golfer and they were and we loved them for it.
“I really think Tiger with his body won’t play as long as Arnie and Jack did but I think Tiger will hang around and try to play a few tournaments on the Champions Tour, I hope he does.”
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