Ever since Tiger Woods announced his return to the PGA Tour, he’s been the center of attention in golf. The fans have been constantly raging about his homecoming to the Tour at the Riviera. And yet again, after the Tour’s pairing announcements just a few hours ago, the golf legend became the talk of the town. But this time he’s infuriated the golf world, mainly because he’s paired up with two of his closest pals on the Tour.
The golf world is infuriated with Tiger Woods
Late last week, Woods announced that he would be a part of the 132-player field at the Genesis Invitational. Since then, he’s been closely followed by the fans, who are eager to know his every move. And recently, when the Tour took to Twitter to announce Thursday’s tee times for the Riviera event, the fans went berserk seeing Woods’ group.
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The golf great has been paired up with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds. The trio is set to tee off at 3:04 p.m. ET in a late-early start as per the Tour. But the golf world didn’t take the well at all. The fans were frustrated to see the 15-time major winner getting biased treatment on the Tour, where he created years of legacy, and lashed out at him.
The three Muskaturds
— Tom Twit (@TomTwit44) February 14, 2023
Going to be a real TV bore fest. Watching Tiger doing nothing for 18 holes then watching crawlers Rory and Justin applauding him for doing nothing
— John Collins (@johnboy120249) February 14, 2023
Why not random draw? Do the players always play with their friends or just some?
— Rm4492jb (@rm4492jb) February 15, 2023
Taking to Twitter, they openly voiced their concerns, calling out the Tour for favoritism. Some even suggested that this was certainly not legal.
Tiger, Rory, and JT paired together for Thursday and Friday?!? That cannot be legal right? The nation’s productivity for those two days is going to be abominable
— Rob McRae (@rbmcrae89) February 14, 2023
We get to watch Rory Tiger and JT play together on Thursday in Tigers first start of the year. PGA script writers starting the year off with a bang. pic.twitter.com/npVhThShlV
— Kendall Dillard (@kdill45) February 15, 2023
Fans further added that it looked like Woods had picked his group himself, and they weren’t sure how that was fair to the rest of the field.
🐯 Think Tiger Woods has picked his group himself by the looks of it
Rory & JT playing alongside him @thegenesisinv this week on the @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/KEwbi7iSlX
— Paul Higham (@SportsPaulH) February 14, 2023
I'm sure tiger is OK with this, but in a normal situation given the current rankings, is the way it would work ?
— Larry Tab (@LarryTab47) February 15, 2023
The golf world responded with sarcasm and abuse, throwing a lot of shade the way of the Tour and the 15-time major champion.
@PGATOUR , wow what a fluke Rory , Tiger, and JT got drawn in same group?
— Ken (@sharp_59) February 14, 2023
Be more predictable @PGATOUR . We could've predicted you were going to pair Tiger with JT before the pairings were released.
— JP Kircher (@kirchjp) February 15, 2023
I’m sure their names were drawn out of a hat and by luck were paired together. Definitely a lucky coincidence!
— Mike Fuchs (@MichaelSFuchs) February 14, 2023
They certainly feel quite strongly about Woods and his friend-pairings. Do you also feel the same way? And who would you have the legend paired up with instead?
Woods’ bond with JT and McIlroy
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The 82-time PGA Tour winner undoubtedly shares a close bond with the FedEx Cup Champion. The two have been friends for years now, and also stand united in the charge against LIV Golf. But they’re more than that. The duo are also business partners; Together and run TMWR sports, a company that aims to which they wish to grow the sport.
The golf champion and JT, on the other hand, share a much more personal bond. As per a PGA Tour article, he once even called the 15-time PGA Tour winner “the little brother that I never had.” Both the Woods and the Thomas families are very close too, and their relationship can be seen during events like the PNC championship when their bond is displayed for all to see.
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What are your thoughts about the golf greats’ pairings for the first two rounds this week? Do you think it’s fair? Or do you side with the majority of golf fans? Let us know in the comments below.