Tiger Woods withdrew from the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday due to back pain, but that won’t keep him from the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship this week. ESPN first reported that Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said the world No. 1 will arrive Wednesday at Trump National Doral in Miami.
He’s set to tee off at 12:39 p.m. ET Thursday with Adam Scott, No. 2 in the world, and No. 3 Henrik Stenson. Woods is the defending champion and has won at Doral four times.
“He wouldn’t be coming down here if he didn’t intend to compete at the highest level,” Steinberg told ESPN. “He intends to play and wants to play well.”
Playing well might be tough considering Woods’ back issues and the fact that he has yet to see this reconstructed course. But he’s received treatment for back spasms all week, and he took a look at the course Wednesday afternoon.
Woods is seeking for his first solid result of 2014, after missing the Saturday cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, placing 41st at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and withdrawing in the final round of the Honda Classic, when he was 5-over-par after 13 holes.
But all that matters to Woods is that he’s good for the Masters in April. He’s slated to play again in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but his performance this weekend will go a long way to determine his involvement there.
“I’ve learned as I’ve aged that I don’t quite bounce back like I used to.” – Tiger Woods #LIVEonSC talking about his recent injuries.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 5, 2014
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