Five Things to Know: Kapalua’s Plantation Course

A Skins game that revealed plenty of rust and raised more than $5 million for COVID-19 relief funds saw Rory McIlroy end the proceedings with the winning shot in the first live golf on TV since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Tiger Woods has revealed he hopes to play on the PGA TOUR again, albeit on a limited basis. Woods spoke to Golf Digest in a video interview released Monday, shedding light on his future for the first time since he suffered extensive damage to his leg in a single-car accident last February. The video came out a day prior to his first scheduled press conference with wider media, which will be held at 9 a.m. Eastern at Albany Golf Course in The Bahamas, where Woods is hosting his Hero World Challenge. The accident in Los Angeles on Feb. 23 saw Woods suffer comminuted open fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg and damage to his ankle, leaving his playing future in doubt. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner revealed amputation was a distinct possibility in the early days of recovery. “I think something that is realistic is playing the TOUR one day — never full time, ever again — but pick and choose, just like Mr. (Ben) Hogan did. Pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that,” Woods told Golf Digest. “You practice around that, and you gear yourself up for that. I think that’s how I’m going to have to play it from now on. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it. … There was a point in time when, I wouldn’t say it was 50/50, but it was damn near there if I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg.” Woods has made numerous comebacks from injuries before. He broke his leg and tore his ACL in 2008 and has had multiple back surgeries, including a fusion. But he turns 46 in December and has switched the focus of his life to his children and his health. “I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life,” Woods said. “After my back fusion, I had to climb Mt. Everest one more time. I had to do it, and I did. This time around, I don’t think I’ll have the body to climb Mt. Everest and that’s OK. “I can still participate in the game of golf. I can still, if my leg gets OK, I can still click off a tournament here or there. But as far as climbing the mountain again and getting all the way to the top, I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation of me.” Woods set the golf world alight on Nov. 21 with a quick three-second video post of his swing with the caption “Making progress.” It led to speculation he might be trying to get fit for the PNC Championship on Dec. 16-19 in Orlando, where major champions team up with a member of their family in a team format. Tiger and his son Charlie competed in the event in 2020 for the first time and finished seventh. It was the last event Woods played before the accident as he underwent back surgery soon after. The video interview shows Woods walking unimpaired, but the 15-time major winner played down that chance by suggesting his rehabilitation still poses a long and lengthy road. “I have so far to go. … I’m not even at the halfway point,” he said. “I have so much more muscle development and nerve development that I have to do in my leg. … I’m able to walk on my own now but I still struggle going up or down. The next progression is can you walk without a hitch in your giddy up… well that’s going to take time. “I am able to chip and putt and do other things, swing clubs, but there’s no endurance. Because I haven’t built it up yet especially golf endurance. I haven’t done it enough, so I get tired. When that leg, my right leg gets tired, it’s time to shut it down.” With the five previous back surgeries also affecting his progress, Woods is still grinding. “As the leg gets stronger, sometimes the back may act up. … It’s a tough road,” he added. “But I’m just happy to be able to go out there and watch Charlie play or go in the backyard and have an hour or two by myself with no one talking, no music, no nothing. I just hear the birds chirping. That part I’ve sorely missed.” Woods says 12-year-old Charlie’s progression in the sport was a motivator during his recovery and he’s enjoyed being a mentor. While he couldn’t join him in a full playing capacity, he did take the opportunity to impart some of the mental tips that have been imperative in his success. “I went to golf tournaments to watch him play, and I’m looking at some of these scores he’s shooting and I said, How the hell are you shooting such high scores? I gotta go check this out,” Woods said. “So I’d watch him play and he’s going along great, he has one bad hole, he loses his temper, his temper carries him over to another shot and another shot and it compounds itself. I said, ‘Son, I don’t care how mad you get. Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you’re 100% committed to the next shot. That’s all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life. It should be more important than breathing. Once you understand that concept, then I think you’ll get better. And as the rounds went on throughout the summer, he’s gotten so much better.”

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Scotland’s Russell Knox, now residing in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, is a two-time PGA TOUR winner. He turned professional in 2007 and made his mark on the Web.com Tour, shooting a rare 59 at the 2013 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco. On the PGA TOUR, Knox became the first Scottish golfer to claim a World Golf Championships title, defeating Kevin Kisner by two strokes at the 2015 WGC-HSBC Champions. His second PGA TOUR victory came at the 2016 Travelers Championship, where he celebrated with an epic hat toss after holing the winning putt. Knox was named Scottish Player of the Year in front of 650 guests at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh in March 2016, an honor accepted by his radio DJ sister, Diane, who co-hosted the event. Although Knox’s childhood nickname was “Roo,” he recently spent a day with horses when he and wife, Andrea, took their first trip to the Kentucky Derby. We caught up with him at THE PLAYERS Championship two days after the race where he shared some thoughts on the experience. Question: Was this the first time at the Kentucky Derby for you? Russell Knox: “It was the first time. My wife has been at me for a few years now to go. I always wanted to go. I always thought it would be cool to experience it but I wasn’t really in a rush. I’m very fortunate to be associated with Vineyard Vines clothing company and they’re heavily involved with the Kentucky Derby, so we asked them for tickets and we went. It was a blast. We really did have a good time.â€� Q: Was the timing not convenient to attend in the past? Russell Knox: “I’d played the Wells Fargo Championship the last few years which coincides with the Derby and it’s tough to schedule an event like going to the Derby when you know you might be playing golf, but this year I knew I was taking that week off and everything just worked out so it was perfect timing for us.â€� Q: Are you a horse-racing fan? Russell Knox: “Not really. I mean, I started watching the Derby when I was playing on the mini-tours and we used to play a tournament just north of Augusta at a place called Savannah Lakes in South Carolina and the people I stayed with that week were from Louisville. It just so happened it was the week of the Derby. Of course, they had it on television so that was my first introduction to it. Since then, I’ve always tuned in to it on television. I’m not a super-big horse-racing fan but the whole experience was amazing, What a place.â€� Q: Did you place a bet? Who did you back? Russell Knox: “I did. I bet Bolt d’Oro and he was 8-1 and he did not win me any money. The whole experience of the races leading up to the Derby was pretty cool. It’s a giant party with 14 races in the day. It was probably just like I expected it to be. It was awesome.â€� Q: Was there something that stood out? Sights, sounds, smells? Russell Knox: “Unfortunately, it rained all day for us, so that was kind of a bummer. Our experience would have differed slightly if it was sunny. There were concerts and activities happening and we probably would have tripped around a little bit more and experienced some of that, but because it was raining we would have gotten soaked if we’d ventured out from our covered seats. That part of it was a little bit of a downer, but it was busy – a lot of people, a lot of cool outfits. I was dressed brightly and a lot of ladies were ‘dressed to the nines’ as they say.â€� Q: The race occurred on Cinco de Mayo this year. Are you a tequila guy or a bourbon guy? Russell Knox: “I don’t really dabble into that much, but I’ll admit I did have a mint julep or two. I expected it to be a fruity drink, but it wasn’t. You definitely get a good taste of bourbon when you have a mint julep. I had a few, but mostly just to cheer on the horses.â€� Q: Did you run into any celebrities or other PGA TOUR professionals? Russell Knox: “I didn’t run into anyone but a did speak with Justin Thomas a few weeks before the race. He told me we were going to have an amazing time because, being from Kentucky, he’d been to the race in previous years. So, I knew we were going to have a good time before we went.â€� Q: How would you compare the atmosphere of the Kentucky Derby to other major sporting events? Russell Knox: “I saw it similar to two events. I’ve been to Wimbledon once. The Masters at Augusta National is the other. I thought it was kind of on that same level because every year it’s the same location. You know it’s going to be there. They can prepare accordingly, everything’s ready, the hype, and there’s so much history. I mean, it was the 144th running of the race. I think I played in the 144th Open Championship as well, so that was a pretty cool connection for me. The history involved in going back to the same place, the traditions like seeing the owners and all the connections walk down the track with the horses, that was pretty cool. You could sense that aura when you’re there.â€� Q: Last question. Would you rather wear the silks of the winning jockey and claim the Kentucky Derby or lift the FedExCup on the PGA TOUR? Russell Knox: “I’ll take that FedExCup trophy. And the bonus that comes with it. All day.â€�  

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