Tiger Woods says he's limiting his schedule to prolong his golf career, avoid early retirement
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Tiger Woods says he’s limiting his schedule to prolong his golf career, avoid early retirement

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Tiger Woods has seemingly played sparingly in 2019.

Beyond the three majors and The Players, he's made five other starts. Two of those total nine starts came in World Golf Championships events, which come with guaranteed rounds, free money and a near guarantee of Official World Golf Ranking points.

However, Tiger Woods' 2019 schedule isn't all that different than 2018, when he played 10 times through and including the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

Now, though, Woods is set for a stretch run that includes the Open Championship this week and the three FedEx Cup playoff events in August. He may well not play in next week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis. With the change in schedule, Woods is facing a conundrum similar to other top players.

"Some of the guys have decided to play quite a bit in the fall and get their number up so they don't have to play as much in the spring and the summer, and save themselves for the playoffs," Woods said. "Other players have taken a different approach."

Woods admits, though, his 19 starts, including seven events in 10 weeks starting with his close call at Carnoustie last July, took a lot out of him.

"I learned last year I played a little bit too much, the body was pretty beat up. And after I won in Atlanta, you saw what I did at the Ryder Cup, and I was worn out," he said. "And unfortunately I didn't contribute to the team at all in points, and we ended up losing."

In a cryptic Yogi-ism, Woods admitted his career longevity factors into his scheduling decisions.

"This year I made a conscious effort to cut back on my schedule to make sure that I don't play too much," he said. "I want to play here as long as I possibly can. And you have to understand, if I play a lot, I won't be out here that long."

At most, Woods will play four more times this season, before the PGA Tour season concludes at the end of August. He'll then take some time off before playing in the new Zozo Championship in Japan in October. Woods' end-of-year docket is jam-packed, however, as he'll be a playing captain on the American Presidents Cup team at Royal Melbourne in December, hosting his Hero World Challenge a world away in Bermuda the week prior.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

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