‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (48, USA) restarts the clock to win the record of ‘King’ LeBron James (39, LA Lakers) of the American Professional Basketball (NBA).
At the official press conference for the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars) held at the Riviera CC (par 71) in Pacific Palisades, California, USA on the 15th (Korean time), Woods said, “I will beat other players to win the championship. If I hadn’t thought I could, I wouldn’t have participated in this competition.” Woods’ most recent win was the Zojo Championship in October 2019.
It is the first time Woods has participated in a PGA Tour event in seven months since The Open in July last year. Woods, who seriously injured his leg in a car rollover accident in 2021, has only participated in some competitions since. Last year, he competed in only three major tournaments (Masters, PGA Championship, and The Open), and it has been about two years and four months since the Jojo Championship in October 2020 that he has played in a non-major tour event. 메이저사이트
The appearance Woods showed on this day was more than just a comeback. He revealed his desire to win without hesitation, and it was James who stimulated him. “I grew up watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, I did not think that James would surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s record at the LA Lakers,” he said. He thought of many things while looking at James.” James scored 38,390 points in an NBA regular league home game on the 8th, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points, which had not been broken for 34 years.
Woods, who has 82 victories on the PGA Tour, is tied with Sam Sneed for the most wins. However, he said that if his 83rd win was impossible, he would not have competed in this event. He expressed confidence, saying, “I am very rusty now, but I have gotten out of situations like this before,” and “I know this golf course well and I know what shots to hit.”
Woods will play in a group with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Justin Thomas (USA) at the Genesis Invitational, which opens on the 16th. This tournament is one of the ‘special events’ designated by the PGA Tour, and the prize money for winning reaches 3.6 million dollars (approximately 4.6 billion won).