Golf nation may have turned its lonely eyes to Tiger Woods, who will make his long-awaited comeback this week at the Bridgestone Invitational. But, with the world’s 28th-ranked golfer currently looking up at those who have enough points to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs, Red Sox Nation wants to know what Tiger must do to guarantee his return to Boston’s Deutsche Bank Championship.
Good to go. Getting back on the course and staying there will be a solid first step. Woods, who stated Tuesday that his knee and Achilles were "good to go," lasted only nine lackluster holes in his most recent outing at the Players Championship in May. And he mouthed similar words about his balky leg before pegging it up at TPC Sawgrass.
"Oh, yeah, the knee is better, no doubt," Woods told reporters the Tuesday before The Players began and two days before withdrawing from said event. "The Achilles is better as well. So I’m here playing."
For the sake of Deutsche Bank chief executive Seth Waugh’s pro-am foursome, however, let’s assume that Woods really is healthy for the first time in years, as he claimed in this Tuesday’s press conference. What will Tiger need to accomplish to make it to TPC Boston over Labor Day weekend and beyond?
While Woods has had great success at Firestone Country Club, where he’s won seven times, he’ll have to do a whole lot better than his T78 (out of 80) in last year’s tournament. Currently standing at 135th in FedEx Cup points, Tiger will need a finish of 50th or higher in this year’s 76-player field just to make it into the top 125 and qualify for the so-called playoffs, according to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig.
If he wants a shot at making it to Boston, where he won in 2006, Woods must be in the top 100 after next week’s PGA Championship and the Wyndham Championship the following week. He has committed to going for his 15th major at the PGA but has said nothing about playing in the Wyndham.
Boston golfers may care only about a Tiger sighting on September 2. But should Woods care to advance toward the $10 million FedEx Cup payoff, he would have to be among the top 70 before the BMW Championship (where Woods won his last PGA Tour win in 2009, as Harig noted) and in the top 30 to earn his way to the Tour Championship.
In more concise terms, to get to the playoffs, Woods needs one seventh-place finish, two 24ths, or three top-40 closings. If you can take Woods at his word, his gimpy leg should not be an issue.
"I’m ready to go," he said. "I feel good now...and here I am."
Under the weather. Speaking of health and the only PGA Tour with a scheduled Monday finish, defending Deutsche Bank champ Charley Hoffman had to phone in his regrets to reporters gathered Monday for media day at TPC Boston. An undiagnosed stomach ailment forced Hoffman to the hospital last week and to cancel his Monday flight to Akron, Ohio, site of this week’s Bridgestone tourney.
As of Tuesday, Hoffman was still in the Bridgestone field but said he may not know until later in the week if he would be well enough to compete in the event that starts Thursday.
"If I’m not feeling good by Wednesday, probably not going to make the trip at all, just because the week after is the PGA and I want to feel healthy and good for that," Hoffman said during a conference call. "Hopefully I’m feeling good (Tuesday) and I’m on a plane out to Akron."
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