Golf fans, take note: Tiger Woods has big plans for 2017.
Woods has penned a new blog post for his own website. It reads not unlike your extended family member’s year-end mass email—the kind that looks back on the year that was and forward to what’s ahead—except instead of telling you that uncle Doug went gluten-free or cousin Janet got her driver’s licence, Woods’ letter outlines some fairly bold ambitions.
“I am working hard to sharpen my game for 2017, and my goal is simple: to win,” he writes. “Winning takes care of itself.”
Woods begins by outlining the highlights of his 2016, which included celebrating the 20th anniversary of his foundation (he spent the night bro-ing down with his buddy Phil Knight to commemorate the milestone). There were other professional highlights, such as the work of his golf-course design firm, TGR Design, but the most interesting parts of the post detail Woods’s own ups and downs. He mulls over his performance at last month’s Hero World Challenge, a tournament which he hosts each year.
Woods had been recovering from back surgery and missed almost 16 months before returning to play in the tournament. But the California native, who turned 41 at the end of December, finished 15th of 17. Woods fell ill right before Thanksgiving and lost 10 pounds as a result. “I ran out of gas all four days,” he writes.
Still, Woods is taking a glass-half-full approach to the experience.
“I thought what I did at the Hero World Challenge was a positive step,” he writes. “I just need to keep building off that and eliminate the simple mistakes I made. Being away from the game that long, I made some really dumb errors I don’t normally make, and it cost me.”
Woods was more enthusiastic about a tournament in which he didn’t play: the Ryder Cup. He was the vice captain for the American team, and while his back injury kept him out of competition, the camaraderie he felt with his fellow teammates made a lasting impression.
“They got me good in the team room Friday night. It was hot, and they all wore these red, white and blue onesies with ‘USA’ on the front, a gift from Rickie Fowler. Zach Johnson stood up and thanked me for my contributions to the game. He had given every player a red T-shirt, which they wore under the onesies. They all stood, unzipped the front, and the T-shirt read, ‘MAKE TIGER GREAT AGAIN.'”
In signing off on his letter, Woods casually notes that he recently played golf with American president-elect Donald Trump. “We didn’t have a match and played for fun,” he writes. Apparently Trump hits the ball pretty far for a 70-year-old, which Woods was impressed by.
“He takes a pretty good lash,” Woods writes. “Our discussion topics were wide-ranging; it was fun. We both enjoyed the bantering, bickering and needling. I also shared my vision for golf and what I’m trying to do.”
The Woods 2017 Comeback Attempt will begin in earnest at the Farmers Insurance Open later this month.
