We haven’t seen Tiger Woods on the course in quite a while, and we still don’t know when he’ll make his return. But that doesn’t mean Tiger isn’t still locked into what’s going on in pro golf. In fact, last weekend he showed he’s more dedicated than most fans — and even one current PGA Tour star.
That’s because while many people were watching the exciting final round of the Zozo Championship, or NFL football, Tiger was tuned in to the PGA Tour Champions’ SAS Championship.
Why, you might ask? Beyond being a self-professed golf nerd, Woods had extra incentive to tune in from his Jupiter, Fla., home on Sunday: His longtime friend Fred Couples was making some history on his way to a victory.
We know this thanks to another Tour friend of Woods’, Justin Thomas.
The reigning PGA champion revealed the latest Tiger nugget in his pre-tournament press conference at the CJ Cup, in South Carolina.
During his session with reporters on Wednesday, Thomas was asked if he had watched Couples’ historic winning round at the SAS, where he fired a 12-under 60, which Couples described as the “best round I’ve ever played.”
Thomas first admitted that initially he wasn’t watching, choosing instead to follow the Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs game (“I scheduled my whole day of practice around it because I couldn’t wait to watch it”).
But then JT’s phone pinged, and the person calling was someone he couldn’t ignore: Tiger.
“I think [Couples] was on 17 or 18 and Tiger called me,” Thomas said. “And he’s like, ‘Are you watching this?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, pretty good game.’ He’s like, ‘No, Freddie’s 11 under and he’s playing 18.’”
It turns out Tiger was glued to the TV watching Couples’ performance, and he wanted JT to tune in, too.
“Last I looked he was like 9 or 10 under, he was winning by a million,” Thomas recalled. “No offense to Fred, love him to death, but he was going to win. I was more interested in watching the football game.”
It was only after fielding the call from Tiger that Thomas put the golf back on.
“So I turned it on and watched him stripe it off 18 tee, stiff an iron shot and make the putt,” Thomas said.
We don’t know yet when Tiger will turn off the TV and strap on his spikes to try and make some more history of his own, but it’s looking like the Hero World Challenge, in December, is a good bet.
As for Couples, who has floated the idea of retirement, it appears his stellar round of 60 and big win at the SAS has stoked his competitive fire.
“I need to pay attention to my game,” Couples said after his win. “So I’ll probably take the rest of this month off and then I’ll gradually start hitting a few in November, December. That’s normally when I do well because I live in California, the weather’s perfect. Once the season starts, I like to get off to a good start.”
