DORAL, Fla. — Tiger Woods will play the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral after all, but he will tee it up in Thursday’s opening round on the newly renovated and redesigned Blue Monster without having played a proper practice round.
Three days removed from his final-round withdrawal at the Honda Classic, where lower back spasms caused him to walk off the course after 13 holes, Woods arrived to the course for the first time around noon Wednesday before embarking on an afternoon speed-reading session around the course with his caddie, Joe LaCava.
Woods, who has been undergoing rehab on his back the last three days, did not hit any full shots, only chipped and putted while he toured the course with LaCava. He said, since the withdrawal, he has hit balls only once — on Tuesday — and did not hit anything more than 60 yards.
So Woods, the defending champion of the tournament at a place where he has won seven times in his career, will be taking on the new Blue Monster without the benefit of much practice or having hit any full shots since Sunday.
He is scheduled to tee off the first hole at 12:39 p.m. Thursday alongside Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott, who can overtake Woods’ No. 1 world ranking this week with a victory and Woods finishing worse than sixth.
“I’ve got no idea about what that golf course holds out there except for what is on video. That’s it,’’ Woods said. “Joey [LaCava] came down here and tried to describe some of the holes and I’m like, ‘What? There’s water on that hole?’ Joey has a couple books he wants me to take a look at on the place, and we are going to go from there.’’
Woods’ start to 2014 is his worst as a professional. He has played in only two tournaments in the U.S. and has not finished either, missing the third-round cut at Torrey Pines and withdrawing last week. He also played in Dubai, where he finished tied for 41st. With a mere 10 competitive rounds under his belt this year. He needs reps, which is likely why he’s giving it a go at Doral this week.
His exit at Honda was the seventh time in his professional career that he has withdrawn from a tournament, but the fourth in the last five years — and each of the last four has been due to injury, three during the final round of a tournament.
He withdrew from the Players Championship in 2010 with pain in his upper back, he played just nine holes at the 2011 Players Championship and left because of knee and Achilles injuries suffered a month earlier at the Masters. And two years ago at Doral, he withdrew after 12 holes of the final round because of an Achilles injury.
That year, Woods won at Bay Hill two weeks later, and on Wednesday, he referenced that sequence as something similar to his opting to withdraw from the Honda Classic because he didn’t want to exacerbate the injury.
“Pulling out here at Doral [in 2012] is what allowed me to win at Bay Hill,’’ Woods said. “So I did a ton of chipping and putting then at the same time because I couldn’t hit full shots and that worked out pretty good. It’s the same thing. It’s the same concept.’’
Woods said his most significant goal is making sure he’s healthy and prepared for the Masters next month.
“I’m still kind of constantly looking at that, looking at managing myself through there and making sure everything’s good,’’ he said. “I want to be strong and fit and healthy to be able to play that golf course and give it my best. So [I’m] looking at scheduling and practice sessions and training and all that stuff. We have taken a really good look at it and really tried to come up with a good plan so that I can compete and play and be ready and try and win my fifth [green] jacket.’’