If Tiger Woods wants to play in the PGA Tour’s signature events, Tiger Woods will play in the PGA Tour’s signature events.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Tuesday the PGA Tour sent its members a memo revealing it created a special sponsor exemption for the legendary golfer based on his “exceptional lifetime achievement.”
That means Woods will be allowed to compete in the eight signature events that have limited fields and increased prize money and FedEx Cup points even if he doesn’t qualify by playing in enough tournaments.
These were the eight signature events this year:
* The Sentry
* AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
* Genesis Invitational
* Arnold Palmer Invitational
* RBC Heritage
* Wells Fargo Championship
* Memorial Tournament
* Travelers Championship
The Genesis Invitational is the only one Woods participated in, and he withdrew after just one round due to illness.
Otherwise, his focus has been on the majors at this stage of his career.
He finished in 60th place at the Masters and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Woods told reporters at the U.S. Open that he deals with a “pick your poison” decision-making process of not playing in other tournaments to be as healthy as possible for the majors but also fighting through rust when he arrives.
"Being aggressive to a conservative line is I think how you need to play this particular golf course."
Hear more from @TigerWoods on his opening round 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/bK5Bqijxzl
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
“I’m physically getting better as the year has gone on,” Woods said (two-minute mark). “I just haven’t been able to play as much. I just don’t want to hurt myself pre and then I won’t be able to play in the major championships. It’s pick your poison, right? Play a lot and have the potential of not playing. Or, not playing and fight being not as sharp.”
The 15-time major champion and 82-time PGA Tour winner has competed in just nine official PGA Tour events the past three seasons since he suffered serious injuries in a February 2021 car accident.
The PGA Tour would surely love to have his iconic presence in more tournaments, and perhaps that will become a reality in future years as he is further removed from the car accident and his multiple surgeries.
By creating this special exemption, it gives Woods a pathway to both play in front of large galleries and add more star power to the signature events outside of the majors and attempt to fight some of the rust he has dealt with of late if he chooses to participate in more tournaments.
