Tiger Woods looks now almost certain to tee up in July’s return of the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor.
Woods spoke Sunday following the remarkable achievement of playing all four rounds of the 86th Masters that he intends to travel to Scotland in July for the 150th Open Championship, and this despite suggesting he may skip next month’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
You’d find the Irish anywhere check out who tiger greets & hugs at the end ?? https://t.co/mfHYvIT4wl
— The Social Hacker (@TheSocialHackR) April 6, 2022
Woods won two of his three Opens at St. Andrews, including a first in 2000 when he produced four rounds in the 60s, and was also not in a bunker over the four days on his way to winning by eight shots.
It’s little wonder then that he’s looking forward to returning to the Home of Golf, and also attending Monday’s ‘Former Champions Four-Hole Challenge’ – a tradition only at St. Andrews of sitting down at the Tuesday night’s ‘Past Champions Dinner’ in the R&A clubhouse.
“I am looking forward to St. Andrews,” said Woods. “That is something that is near and dear to my heart. You know, I’ve won two Opens there, it’s the home of golf, it’s my favourite golf course in the world.
“So, I will be there for that one. Anything in between that, I don’t know. I will try, there’s no doubt. This week, I will try to get ready for Southern Hills, and we’ll see what this body is able to do.”
Woods was among the list of star golfers set to compete in the 2020 edition of the JP McManus Pro-Am but that was before the worldwide pandemic saw the sixth hosting of the event postponed. Now with normality returning to the world, the JP McManus is back on for Monday, July 4th, and Tuesday, July 5th, and record numbers are sure to flock to the 2027 Ryder Cup host venue.
Woods has competed in three JP McManus Pro-Am’s, including winning on debut in 2000 at Limerick, and highlighted that year by a near €2m bid for a round of golf with Woods and Mark O’Meara, paid out by Joe Lewis, now the owner of the ultra-exclusive Seminole Club close to Woods’ home in Florida.
Woods was back in 2005 when the tournament was staged at Adare Manor, and as he had done in 2000, then headed over to St. Andrews to win the Open Championship for a second straight time on the Old Course.
Woods was sidelined with an injury in 2015, so there was no event at Adare Manor, though it was still a special year for McManus as he purchased Adare Manor for an estimated €30m. McManus then poured millions more into an extensive redesign, bringing in Tom Fazio to tackle the course into the ‘Augusta National of Ireland’.
In May 2018, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington, and Paul McGinley were on hand for the official re-opening of the course.
And now after Woods’ remarkable efforts last week at Augusta, Irish fans will also get their chance to join in a new version of ‘Tigermania’, as we witnessed at Augusta National.
“I’m excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” Woods said Sunday.
“I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.”
Ireland golf fans will be just as excited to be able to follow Woods back in the Emerald Isle for the first time in a dozen years.
- Full field of pros currently confirm for JP Pro-Am HERE
Leave a comment