Tiger Woods Won’t Take A Cart In Competition Because Of Course He Won’t

Tiger Woods is playing in the Hero World Challenge the week after Thanksgiving. It’s a limited-field event with only 20 players, and its primary function is to benefit his foundation. Simply making it into the event means you’ve had a great year, and most guys bring their families with them and stay on-site at Albany, a super exclusive enclave in the Bahamas. (It’s where SBF was running FTX out of, but that’s another story entirely). Last place pays $100,000. As a result, it’s a pretty relaxed atmosphere.

That’s why there was some speculation that Woods might take a cart during competition. He struggled mightily with walking courses this year and, for the first time as a professional, withdrew from a major at the PGA Championship. He’s said throughout this latest comeback that golf isn’t the hard part; walking is. He’s got a bionic right leg filled with rods and screws, and more than 18 months after his accident he still has a pronounced limp. He probably always will. 

But this is Tiger Woods we’re talking about, maybe the hardest core competitor who’s ever played the game. Has has said countless times that he would never take a cart in competition, for he views that as part of the challenge of professional golf. 

I had a hunch he still felt this way, but maybe the pain of walking tournaments last year changed his mind? 

No sir. I confirmed with a member of Tiger’s inner circle that the 15-time major winner will indeed walk all four rounds at the Hero. 

“Can’t take a cart,” the source said. “This isn’t fantasy golf.”

Hard not to get fired up by that. It’s worth noting that Tiger will ride in a cart when he plays The Match on Dec. 10 in Tampa, when he and Rory McIlroy will take on Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He’s also expected to play in the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, the week after the match, but no announcement has been made yet. He’s played in it each of the past two years and rode a cart both times. 

The Hero will mark Woods’ first start since missing the cut at The Open at St. Andrews in July. He made the cut at the Masters and PGA Championship but did not participate in the U.S. Open.