The golf betting odds of whoever participates in the upcoming Safeway Open have just received a blow. Fourteen-time major champion Tiger Woods hopes to play in the tournament that will open the 2016-17 PGA Tour season, and which will take place at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California on October 13th-16th. Woods seems poised to make up for lost time. He hasn’t played a competitive round on the PGA Tour since August 2015 when he finished in a tie for 10th place in the Wyndham Championship, but now he has the Turkish Airlines Open, the Tiger Woods Foundation-run Hero World Challenge, and the Tiger Woods Invitational all lined up for the fall.
“I’m looking forward to going to California for my foundation event and Safeway. I’m also excited to return to Turkey and Albany. It could be a fun fall,” the golfer said in his official website. The fall of 2015 was anything but fun, though. Woods underwent two back surgeries, the most recent of which occurred on September 16th, 2015. And while “I still have work to do,” his “rehabilitation is to the point where I’m comfortable making plans.” As fans who bet on golf might remember, Woods has also struggled with knee, elbow, neck, and wrist injuries.
Woods’ colleagues don’t seem to be worried about their golf betting odds, though. Phil Mickelson, for instance, is even lobbying to play with Tiger at the Safeway Open. “I’m hoping we can get paired together,” Mickelson said. “That would be really fun. I would love it. It’s great to have him back, and hopefully he’s physically able to practice the way he needs.” Mickelson’s career has been inextricably linked to that of Woods; as a matter of fact, All but nine of his 42 PGA Tour victories, as well as each of his five major championships, have happened during the Woods era.
Not everyone is psyched about Woods’ return, though. For example, No. 1 in the world Jason Day does not “expect too much from him.” Oddly, Day is not expected to play in any of Tiger’s comeback events. Coincidence, or is he concerned about his golf betting odds? Woods is eyeing Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championships. Moreover, he is just three wins away from Sam Snead’s record 82 PGA Tour wins. By the way, Nicklaus himself has tweeted his excitement about Tiger’s return. Rory McIlroy is welcoming Woods back with open arms as well.
To summarize in seven words or more, we can only hope that Woods and Day and engage in rivalry that recalls that which the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels had with Triple H after the former returned from a four-year absence, which in turned was caused by two herniated and one crushed discs following a back body drop onto a casket. Well, maybe that’s too much to ask out of a golfing feud, but still, here’s to Tiger reclaiming his rightful yet long lost place at the very tippy top of the golf mountain.