Woods braced for "silent and different world"; Nicklaus, "I'm going to shake their hand"
Tiger Woods plays a shot during a practice round prior to The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on July 14, 2020 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods admits life will be different when he returns to the tour after a five-month absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It's just a silent and different world,” he said of his eerie, fan-less practice round for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village where he will tee it up with Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka in the first two rounds.
Woods remains the same man he was before the pandemic but learning to win without feeding off crowds is something new for the 15-time major winner.
“There's nothing to feed off of energy-wise,” Woods said. “You make a big putt or make a big par or make a big chip or hit a hell of a shot, there's no one there. That's one of the more interesting things that it'll be going forward. I think this is going to set up for not just in the short-term but for the foreseeable future for sure.”
He noticed it on Sunday when Collin Morikawa replied to that 50-foot birdie by Justin Thomas on the first playoff hole by making a 25 footer of his own to stay alive then won the title on the third extra hoke,
How much more difficult would Morikawa’s putt have been had there been a gallery?
“I’ve been there when they’re throwing drinks towards the greens and people screaming, high fiving, people running around, running through bunkers. That’s all gone”
“A lot more difficult,” Woods said. “I just think that the energy -- even it felt weird as I was watching on my computer at home, like 14, when Collin hit the ball on the green there, and granted, they've never had the tees up there during the Memorial event, but if they were and had that same situation during a Memorial event, to have someone drive the ball on the green that close to the hole, I mean, that whole hillside would have been going nuts.
“So to see J.T. make that putt, he's screaming, but no one else is screaming. And then when Collin makes it, normally -- he didn't have that much of a reaction, but the whole hillside on 18 would have been just erupted. I've been there when they're throwing drinks towards the greens and people screaming, high fiving, people running around, running through bunkers. That's all gone. That's our new reality that we're facing. Those guys, J.T. and Collin, both how they played down the stretch and separating themselves and the shots they hit, they got into the world of playing against each other and got into that world.
“But it's so different not having the energy of the crowd, and for me watching at home as a spectator and one that has played this golf course and have heard the energy that the fans bring to these holes and these situations, not to have that is very different, very stark really.”
Tournament host Jack Nicklaus told an amusing story about Sunday that he described as an “oops” moment.
“Barbara and I both texted Justin and said to him, ‘Wow, what a fantastic putt, unbelievable fantastic super putt, can’t believe that you made that putt. Now you’ve got the chance to win two in a row.,’” Nicklaus said, explaining that they never got to see Morikawa putt as the doors of the jet closed and they took off.
“And then we got up in the air, and we picked up Wi-Fi after 10,000 feet, and we found out Morikawa won the tournament, and so I had to send him another text and say, ‘Oops, a little premature.’
“He was good about it. He texted back and he said, ‘All’s good, it’s OK.’”
My friend @jacknicklaus wanted to share an important message: we need to be smart, be safe, be careful where we go. DON’T TAKE A CHANCE.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) March 15, 2020
Our seniors are the most vulnerable population, but young people can get infected and spread the virus. #CoronaVirusUpdates pic.twitter.com/gcrV6rNtRQ
As for the new reality of social distancing, the Golden Bear appears set to go against the public health advice he spread on twitter earlier this year, urging people to protect their seniors from the coronavirus.
"I'm going to shake their hand. I going to walk right out there and shake your hand," Nicklaus said during Tuesday’s virtual news conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
"If they don't want to shake my hand, that's fine. I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19, so that's -- I wouldn't put anybody in that position. I wouldn't do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn't shake their hands. And incidentally, I like shaking their hand, too. I think that's a great tradition, but it was as much fun for me as I hope it is for them."
Of course, Nicklaus is in as much danger of contracting the virus from the players, and likely more vulnerable given his age.
The 18-time major winner turned 80 on January 21.
