Woods aims to recapture Memorial

Last year, Tiger Woods was reduced to watching the Memorial Tournament on television after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

The three-time Memorial champion had gone under the knife soon after the Masters and, without any real tune-ups, went on to win the US Open last year.

That victory at Torrey Pines was costly, though, with Woods forced to take the rest of the year off to fix knee ligaments.

He goes into this week’s US PGA Tour event at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio still finding his way back after more than eight months off the circuit.

Although his comeback has included one victory and four top-10 positions, the 33-year-old Woods is still looking for the magic that earned him 14 major titles so far. He said in his newsletter:

“I’m really looking forward to competing again at the Memorial Tournament and I’ve been working hard on my game since the Players Championship. (My form) isn’t too bad considering how long I was away from the game after my knee surgery. It’s just frustrating when you’re in position to win and don’t get it done. I just need to fine-tune everything. My reconstructed left knee enables me to finally make the swing that my instructor, Hank Haney, and I have been working on for years.”

The Memorial Tournament is hosted by Jack Nicklaus, the man whose 18 major wins is the record Woods is chasing.

The world number one won the tournament three years in a row from 1999 onwards but faces a tough challenge against six other top-10 players.

Leading the way is England’s Paul Casey, who is one of the form players on the Tour these days and who has risen to number three in the world.

Also taking part is defending champion Kenny Perry, ranked seventh, number eight Steve Stricker, who won last week, Vijay Singh (9th), Padraig Harrington (10th) and Australian star and world number five Geoff Ogilvy.


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