“I’m playing to win” - Tiger Woods has eyes set on the prize in his first tournament of 2023

Tiger Woods will participate in his first official PGA Tour event in two years and his first official event since last year's Open Championship. The legendary golfer was forced to remain off the golf course due to injuries he suffered in a terrible car accident in 2021.

Tiger hasn't played much since and won't be playing continuously like before. Still, he made it clear that he isn't coming to the Genesis Invitational just for the sake of it. He is looking for glory on Sunday.

“If I’m playing, I’m playing to win," Woods said. "I know some players have played as ambassadors to the game and trying to grow the game. I can’t wrap my mind around that. I’m playing to beat the other players and get a ‘W.’”

Tiger gave the good news on Friday that he will make his tournament return on Thursday, February 16th at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. 2020 Zozo Championship in China was the last non-major event he participated in, finishing in tied 72nd place. Zozo Championship 2019 was the last event he won.

In February 2021, he suffered critical foot, leg, and ankle injuries from the crash, restricting him from participating in any tournament. Earlier in November 2021, the 47-year had said that his days playing as a full-time player on the Tour were all but over as the injuries would force him to pick and choose the tournaments accordingly.

Tiger repeated that stance on Tuesday, stating that returning here doesn't mean a full-time return. However, he also said that he would like to play more than he did in 2022 when he appeared in three events, all being Majors.

“Would I like to play more? Yes. Would [health] allow me to? I don’t know. I have to be realistic about that," said Woods in a Tuesday conference.

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"It’s more my ankle" - Tiger Woods on his injury concern

Tiger Woods said it was his ankle and not the foot that was concerning him at the moment

Tiger Woods has been suffering from plantar fasciitis that he sustained due to injuries from a car crash. This forced him to opt out of the December’s Hero World Challenge, which he hosts annually in the Bahamas. Woods said that it was not his feet but his ankle that was causing him problems, adding that his team was working on it.

“It’s more my ankle, whether I can recover from day-to-day. The leg is better than it was last year, but it’s my ankle. So being able to have it recover from day-to-day and meanwhile still stress it but have the recovery and also have the strength development at the same time, it’s been an intricate little balance that we’ve had to dance,” Woods explained.

It wasn't as if Woods was in form before the injury. His best in the last eight events before 2021 was T-37th. Last year he finished 47th in the Masters.

“I know this golf course. I haven’t had a lot of success on this golf course, but I knew what I had to practice.” Woods said.

Genesis is one of the few tournaments that 82 times winner on the PGA Tour has yet to win. Still, Woods seems confident with the Riviera Golf Course.