Wtf is a 'pga tour start number'?

He mentioned it, the priority to get into tournaments.

you're right. there was something about that in the original article i read............

i guess they were talking about a year from now and how fast TW could decline in the priority list. not very far given trevino/player/nicklaus are higher than TW right now.

Random question but if one of those pre-70 champions like Dow Fisterwald (1958 PGA Champion, now almost 90 years old) shows up and is like, yep, I'm here to tee it up this week at the Genesis Open, where's the first tee -- the PGA is rule-bound to respect this, right? I mean Gene Littler has got to have "play on tour one more time" on his bucket list right?

Guess the old timers have too much respect for the game or something? I mean Mike Weir takes every nickle-and-dime exemption he can get, surely we'd all look the other way if Al Geiberger came to play, right?

He'll never drop below Priority Level 18 because he's a Life Member of the Tour since he has > 20 career wins. That will get him into most events (see how often Vijay Singh is still playing) since it has priority ahead of the way a majority of Tour players qualify (by being Top 125 in the prior season's Fed Ex Cup). Pretty sure all of the Invitationals (e.g., Arnie's tournament, the RBC) have Life Members > Top 125 Fed Ex standings so he'll qualify for those if he wants to play.

That is, the fields never get filled before they get to Tiger's lowest possible level. So his status as a Tour member for like 85% of events won't be in question. He'll be in the field if he wants to be. He's good at the Masters and PGA forever and The Open until he's 60.

He's already *not* qualified for WGC and Fed Ex events, or events like the winner's only Tournament of Champions in January. So that's a fait accompli until he plays better - he won't be in those fields.

So the only exception, really the only 'drama' imo where someone would have to make a decision is the US Open. He will no longer be qualified automatically as of next season (2018). But the USGA reserves the right to exempt anyone they want and ldo they would exempt Tiger if he wants to play.

So really his status is baked in. With > 20 wins (the 'Life Member' level), you're basically going to play any week you want, with the exception of WGC/Fed Ex events which don't allow for sponsor exemptions or invitations by design.

I doubt anyone has every won a US Open on a sponsor's exemption. If you require that to gain entry, your game is probably far away from being US Open ready.

Changed world when Tiger has to rely on sponsor's exemptions to gain entry into tournaments.

Agreed. Obviously if he has to rely on a USGA exemption he's probably not going to be competitive. But I'm equally confident the USGA would never say no if he wanted to play and wasn't otherwise qualified. Even broken down old Tiger Woods.

Hale Irwin was given a USGA exemption in 1990 after his 10 year exemption ran out following his 1979 win. Only Mike Donald was not pleased with the result.

Jack was given 8 special exemptions and Arnie 5 by the USGA.

glutes not firing up for the press conference

Great catch. I do remember that. Running around the green on 18 at Pebble. I do believe there was a hitting of the rocks on the left side of 18 and bouncing back.

Well, probably more that his PR people advised him to withdraw knowing he was going to get pounded with health related questions. What else is there really to ask him?

IIRC Jerry Barber and Doug Ford played PGA tour events way past the time they should have (in some objective sense). The same could be said about Arnold Palmer but I would never say it.

P.S. Pebble?

Just hold the press conference while wheeling in Tiger like Hannibal Lecter

And he should be wheeled in by a Bilzerian-style team of models.

fyp

As a Greg Norman fan the memory of Hale running around the green at Bay Hill always tears my heart out.

Medinah, Bay Hill, Pebble. All the same. 26 years ago.

What else is there to ask Tiger besides when will he play again. We don't need to hear about his past. We know his past.

Until he "retires", that is all he will be asked about. Must be painful and boring for him. Where I don't blame him for WD from a press conference.

You do realize this tournament benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation right? One of three tournaments this year (Quicken Loans National, Genesis Open, and the Hero World Challenge) that does.

It's a bad look for Tiger to shirk his commitment to the media in this spot. But we have come to expect bad looks from Tiger. Haven't we?

Choose:
1) His back does hurt too much to sit down for an hour.
2) He won't be able to hide it if he feels uncomfortable. Especially to how he gets in and out of chair.
3) Not in the mood to answer the most predictable questions.

I don't know how much of commitment he has to the media. It is between him and the sponsors. More sad than anything else.

conference calls are a thing

Unconfirmed but generally reliable source:

His back!

Maybe it was just an acute case of hemorroiditis.

I believe it. Will just be something he manages. How he managed it is up to him. Can he/does he want to change his swing? If he changes his swing and comes back to win just a few tournaments and a major or two, GOAT.

They let Casey Martin use a cart. Is Tiger allowed to use a wheel-chair?