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Tiger Woods, as he often reminds us, still has every golf shot in his bag. The physical toll of training for and playing a 72-hole PGA Tour event, however, is a different beast.
Collin Morikawa witnessed that first-hand last weekend, as he played some golf and poker with the Big Cat as part of the TGR Foundation's Tiger Jam clinic in Las Vegas.
“He was making fun of me not being able to hit a draw, so I hit a draw, it was like a 5-yard draw,” Morikawa recounted in his pre-tournament press conference before the Memorial at Muirfield Village. “And then he hit a hook and I swear he was aiming like 3 feet from the line of people that were on the right side. The skill and the feel is still all there, right? So you wouldn't know.”
Tiger will be in the field for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, which begins June 13 In his three official appearances this season, Tiger withdrew from the 2024 Genesis Invitational in the second round, made his record 24th consecutive cut at the Masters then finished last, and missed the cut at the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
“But you add that over time, over 18 holes, over a course of 72 holes, the entire week of prep, look, the guy's been through a lot,” added Morikawa. “I'm very lucky to have that opportunity to go and do something like that, to talk to him, to hang out, because you go back and you look at your 15-year-old self, your 10-year-old self and you say, yeah, you're going to go spend a few hours with Tiger playing poker, hitting golf balls on the range, picking his brain, screwing around. That's a dream, right?”
“That’s a dream.”
@Collin_Morikawa reflects on spending time with 5-time @MemorialGolf champion @TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/GUj9v7KkT7— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 5, 2024
Tigers' permanent physical struggles often leaves golf fans wondering why the living legend doesn't seek special golf cart accessibility for the few tournaments he enters at this stage of his career, for instance, at Pinehurst.
Morikawa's theory is simple: Pride.
“His ego's pretty big, as is all of ours. I just think he wants to keep doing it until he can't, and maybe there's something about a golf cart that's just, you know, ain't it. I would be taking a golf cart if they allowed me. I would love to.”
(As for Tiger's poker? “We were sitting at different tables…I didn't see it, but he was out. I'm sure he wanted to be out quick.”)
Speaking of GOATs, Morikawa — my pick to win the PGA Tour signature event due to his encouraging form and iron play — is focused on shaking Jack Nicklaus' hand after holding up the Memorial trophy on Sunday afternoon. (Tiger has done so five times.)
“Oh, it would be so special. Look, what Jack has done for this game, what his voice does, what he represents, it's a lot,” said Morikawa. “You can't replace history, you can't replace someone like that, so to have that chance hopefully come Sunday, it would mean the world.
“Like I said, talking about Tiger, it's the same thing talking about Jack. He was a little bit before I got into golf, but history is history. When you have someone like that, one of the greats, if not the great, right? It's an absolute honor.”
Morikawa was two strokes back of the lead at Muirfield Village after 54 holes in 2023 when he was forced to WD due to a back injury. He enters this year with three top-4 finishes (four top 10s) in his last six stars, including the Masters.
“So, just to be able to see him — I felt gutted last year,” Morikawa continued. “I hurt myself on Sunday and I felt like I had a chance. I went in there and I was nearly sobbing because I had to go tell him that I had to withdraw. It sucks because you show up to certain events and you just, you have this thing about an event that you just love, and I love this golf course.”
