via Reuters
Golf – Masters Tournament – Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, United States – April 8, 2024 Tiger Woods of the U.S. stands on the putting green before a practice round REUTERS/Mike Blake
Tiger Woods made his comeback at the 2022 Masters after his 2021 car accident. Woods’s choice of shoes for the tournament did grab many people’s attention. The then-Nike ambassador donned the FootJoy Premiere Series Packard shoes on the Augusta greens. The 15-time major-winner even shared the reason behind his decision: “I have very limited mobility now. Just with the rods and plates and screws that are in my leg, I needed something different, something that allowed me to be more stable. That’s what I’ve gone to.” Foot Joy seemed to have worked wonders as he again wore the brand’s shoes at the 2023 Masters. After suffering from pain in his right ankle, he did indeed face a lot of difficulty on the greens.
2024 saw the end of an era with the Woods-Nike split but the 82-time PGA Tour winner embarked on a new journey with the launch of his own apparel line, Sun Day Red. Woods was spotted wearing the footwear of his own brand at the Genesis Invitational. The debut of his brand’s shoes was overshadowed by his withdrawal from the event due to flu-like symptoms. Next, he entered the Augusta National with Sun Day Red shoes. Now for the second major of this season, he has once again chosen SDR as his go-to apparel line.
Tiger Woods will be dressed from head to toe in his Sun Day Red brand; his business partner, Brad Blankenship, believes that the shoes have been working better for him than his other choices. He said, “The good news is we’ve got Tiger in our shoes, and they’re working well for him. That’s moving pretty fast—a little ahead of where we would have thought we’d be at this time.”
Despite Blankenship’s statement, it looked like the Sun Day Red shoes could not provide much relief to Woods at this year’s Masters. The 15-time major winner was in severe discomfort through the first three rounds, and the pain only kept growing on him. He winced at several shots, like his second at the par-4 ninth. Having had his ankle fusion surgery just last year, things were rather challenging for him. He had also stated that any shot that was not on a tee box would be a task for him.
Tiger Woods was also spotted limping slightly and sweating upon walking off the last hole. Despite creating a record of 24 consecutive cuts at the Masters, he was at the bottom of the leaderboard in the 60th position. However, the sunny side is that, after the Genesis Invitational 2023, this was the first event in which he completed all four rounds. So what’s in store for Woods at Valhalla?
Will Tiger Woods win his 16th major title at the 2024 PGA Championship?
The 15-time major winner has already had a taste of victory at Valhalla back in 2000. The victory played a huge role in the creation of the now-famous “Tiger Slam.” Woods’s fans are eagerly waiting to see a glimpse of his gameplay from his prime days. Woods was also seen practicing on the course at the Valhalla Golf Club on Monday, all dressed in Sun Day Red clothes.
After the major at the Augusta National, Mr. T remarked that he was already looking forward to the rest of the majors and even gave a sneak peek at his preparation plans. “This is a golf course I knew going into it, so I’m going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon, but that’s kind of the game plan.” Woods had quite an optimistic outlook for his future major outings, as he said, “Just keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing. Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer.” Will his physical health be able to match his gameplay and aspirations and help him win his 16th major title?
