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Golf: Woods ready for leap into unknown at fan-free major

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/afp/07/15/woods.jpg"/><figcaption>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. Sam Greenwood, Getty Images/AFP</figcaption></figure></div>SAN FRANCISCO -- Tiger Woods is preparing for a journey into the unknown as he heads into this week&#x27;s PGA Championship hunting for a 16th major championship against the surreal backdrop of a deserted course at TPC Harding Park.Throughout his career, the 44-year-old former world number one has become accustomed to roaring galleries following his every shot, providing a jolt of energy that Woods has fed off time and again.Yet this week&#x27;s PGA Championship in San Francisco will be different.Restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 mean that the first major of 2020 will be a fan-free, muted affair.Woods got an early taste of his changed environment on Tuesday during a media briefing. Where in the past a scrum of reporters would have attended, on Tuesday only a handful of journalists were present.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2020/08/05/so-far-wnba-teams-scoring-breakneck-pace-69949">READ: So far WNBA teams scoring at breakneck pace</a></li></ul>&quot;Well, that&#x27;s an unknown,&quot; Woods said when asked about how the absence of fans might affect his chances.&quot;I don&#x27;t know if anyone in our generation has ever played without fans in a major championship. It&#x27;s going to be very different.&quot;But it&#x27;s still a major championship. It&#x27;s still the best players in the world. We all understand that going into it, so there&#x27;s going to be plenty of energy from the competitive side.&quot;But as far as the energy outside the ropes, that is an unknown. And hopefully I can put myself in a position where I can be in that position where I can feel what it feels like to have no fans and also coming down the stretch with a chance to win.&quot;Woods&#x27; former caddie, New Zealander Steve Williams, is among those who believe that the lack of fans might prove to be a hindrance.&quot;With that element missing, for someone who hasn&#x27;t played a lot of tournament golf this year, it&#x27;ll be challenging for Tiger to find that spark he needs,&quot; Williams said this week.Woods experienced new fan-less reality at the Memorial Tournament last month, at Muirfield Village, in Dublin, Ohio. He finished tied for 40th.&quot;Those four days at Muirfield were a bit different,&quot; Woods said.&quot;It reminded me of sometimes on the weekend, you&#x27;d tee off Saturday morning and you&#x27;d just barely make the cut and you&#x27;re first off and there&#x27;s no one out there. &quot;But generally by the time you make the back nine, there&#x27;s thousands of people out there on the golf course waiting for the leaders to tee off.&quot;But that never happened. So that&#x27;s the new world we live in. We just have to get used to it.&quot;Woods meanwhile has one eye on this week&#x27;s weather forecast in San Francisco, with the former world number one&#x27;s lower back notoriously vulnerable to the cooler temperatures expected. &quot;When it&#x27;s cooler like this, it&#x27;s just making sure that my core stays warm, layering up properly,&quot; said Woods.&quot;I know I won&#x27;t have the same range of motion as I would back home in Florida where it&#x27;s 95 every day. That&#x27;s just the way it is.&quot;Woods, who underwent spinal fusion surgery to rescue his career, said he had spent most of his downtime during the pandemic practising at home.&quot;I feel good,&quot; he said. &quot;Obviously I haven&#x27;t played much competitively, but I&#x27;ve been playing a lot at home. &quot;Just trying to get my way back into this part of the season. This is what I&#x27;ve been gearing up for. We&#x27;ve got a lot of big events starting from here, so looking forward to it. This is going to be a fun test for all of us.&quot;<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>).

Tiger Woods heads into this week's PGA Championship hunting for a 16th major championship against the surreal backdrop of a deserted course at TPC Harding Park.

Tiger Woods heads into this week's PGA Championship hunting for a 16th major championship against the surreal backdrop of a deserted course at TPC Harding Park.