Tiger Woods has not always been at his best at the Player Championship, but after doing so well at the Masters last month, the number one golfer in the world could walk away from the weekend with his fourth win of the season as the tournament begins on Thursday.
Woods had a party night in New York City at the Met Gala with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn where he may have gotten a bit too drunk, but that won't stop him on Thursday when he tees off at around 2 pm. Woods has won once in 15 tries at the tournament and after coming in 40th last year, he will be ready to take on defending champion Matt Kuchar over the weekend. Woods was playing great at Augusta before his drop shot controversy and he ended up finishing in fourth when things were all said and done. He hit a near-perfect shot on 15 while leading the tournament, but after his ball went off the flag and into the water, that was when the trouble started.
After taking a drop, Woods made a bogey, but by the end of the day and the next morning he was given a two stroke penalty after someone called in a drop infraction on him and he eventually ended up tied for fourth. He never could recover from the flag shot and penalty, but this time around he shouldn't have any controversy like that, since it was Augusta.
"I think we have our four major championships, and that's that," Woods said when asked if the Players could be considered the fifth major. "But if there was going to be another one, this would be it. This is the best field that we have."
Woods could be primed to become only the fifth golfer to win the tournament more than once since he is currently the hottest player in the world with three wins this season that helped him regain the world number one ranking from Rory McIlroy.
Defending champion Matt Kuchar will tee it up with Woods and reigning end-of-season FedExCup winner Brandt Snedeker in Thursday's opening round as he embarks on a campaign to become the first repeat winner of the Players Championship.
"I think this is a great opportunity," said Kuchar, who won this year's WGC-Accenture Match Play, tied for eighth at the Masters and has had two other top 10s in 2013.
"They tell me nobody's defended the title. I don't think that this is necessarily a curse that nobody's defended the title here. It's just kind of one of those stats you pull out, and I'd like to be the first guy that is able to repeat."
