You all know about Tiger Woods‘s achievements. But have you ever wondered what he is like when someone plays next to him on the range? Playing with one of golf’s all-time legendary players, Woods, will always be a thing to remember for Beau Hossler, and he revealed one such instance. So, let us find out whether the 82-time PGA Tour winner is a chatter when one swings next to him.
In an episode of the Bob Does Sports Podcast that was aired a year ago, Beau Hossler, the 29-year-old PGA Tour golfer, was asked about a picture he shared on his Instagram. He was standing next to Tiger Woods in the mentioned photograph. Hence, Bob asked Hossler to express what was going on when the picture was taken. Hossler revealed that Tiger Woods does respond to fellow players, but he has never been the one who initiates the conversation.
Hossler recalled, “I’ll tell you what, Tiger, every time I’ve ever talked to him, it’s been outstanding. But he’s certainly not someone that’s going to, like, spark up a conversation.” He also revealed how there will be moments when the 15-time major winner would give a head nod to his fellow golfer. Hossler described his nature of conversation on the green as “he’ll give me a head nod and kind of what’s up, and then move on.”
Hossler did not forget to mention how incredible it had been to see Woods in action. Besides observing how Tiger Woods still gets 15 cameras on his swing, the golfer also shot golf balls at such high speeds that it did not convince Hossler entirely. He recalled that Woods displayed incredible ball speed on the range that day. While he first noticed it to be 199, the next day it was 185. The young golfer was so shocked that he hysterically called out the legitimacy of the shot. He joked with Woods about how he got his caddie to display those numbers on the monitor.
Such was the prominence shown by Tiger Woods about a year ago. His play still gets the fans’ hopes high. Yet this season, he has played mostly in the majors and mostly kept himself away from other PGA Tour events.
Why is Tiger Woods mostly absent from the PGA Tour now?
Apart from the four majors this season, Woods only showed up for the Genesis Open. He has been downsizing his events significantly. His last win came in 2019 in the Masters tournament, but the golf legends continue to play every year. There was a pause, however, in 2021, when Tiger Woods was in a near-fatal car accident that further worsened his leg conditions. In 2023 as well, Woods withdrew from the Masters before the third round started, stating that his plantar fasciitis had aggravated. He then underwent ankle surgery in April, was absent from the tour for the entire season, and then played the Hero World Challenge and PNC Championship in the end.
Hence, many questioned whether it was indeed the injuries that were keeping Tiger Woods away from the PGA Tour. But following his 2024 US Open performance, Tiger Woods revealed that his health was not as bad as it had been before. He hinted at how he is being selective with his events, and the majors are something he is prioritizing. He said, “I’m physically getting better as the year has gone on. I just haven’t been able to play as much because I just don’t want to hurt myself in a tournament, so I won’t be able to play in the major championships. It’s time to pick your poison, right?”
Although he dismissed hypotheses about his failing health, Woods was subjected to criticism before the 2024 Open Championship. Many claimed that the 48-year-old golfer was looking very lean and not healthy enough. But the golfer had a defense ready for such accusations. He claimed to have undergone a rather intensive training session, which was helping him overall. The golfer has also made it public after missing the cut at the Royal Troon that he will no longer play in any other PGA Tour events this year and directly join the field of the Hero World Challenge, which is scheduled in the first week of December this year.
