Woods says he’s healthy and ready
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla.
From the fairway on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill, caddie Joe LaCava looked back toward the tee box in time to see Tiger Woods stop suddenly in the middle of his swing.
“What’s going on?” LaCava said, peering into the sun.
He could see Woods flexing his right knee as he paced behind the ball, rubbing his lower back and stretching. Standing over the ball again, Woods let go of the driver before finishing his swing, although the ball wound up in the middle of the fairway.
Was it the left Achilles tendon again? His rebuilt knee? Something else?
The concern didn’t last long.
Turns out it was a camera click that made Woods flinch.
“I guess one of the so-called professional photographers took a picture right in the middle of my downswing,” Woods said. “I stopped it, and then felt a pretty good twinge in my back. Walked it off and then tried to hit one down there. Hit it in the fairway, but didn’t feel very good. But after a couple of holes, it loosened up. And I’m good to go now.”
That was the message Woods preached Wednesday on the eve of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his last tournament before the Masters begins on April 5, when he resumes his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus in the majors.
He feels good enough to play golf as many as eight days in a row. Woods revealed that his week started with a trip to Augusta National on Sunday, followed by a two-day exhibition at Lake Nona, the pro-am at Bay Hill and then four days of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Even so, his health figures to be a big topic in the two weeks leading to the Masters.
In his last official tournament, Woods played 11 holes in the final round at Doral before he withdrew because of tightness in the left Achilles tendon, the same one that forced him to miss two majors last year.
“I’ve had tightness before, but not to that extent,” Woods said.