Key golf figure makes Tiger Woods claim: "He'd be the hardest one to convince"

Tiger Woods would be 'the hardest one to convince' to have a special exemption created so he could tee it up at the Players again. 

At least that's the message from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. 

Monahan spoke to the media on 12 March ahead of the 50th edition of the unofficial 'fifth major'. 

Of course, the main topic reporters wanted to quiz Monahan on was the current state of affairs over negotiations with the Saudi PIF. 

Monahan refused to go into detail on that subject and even stared down one reporter who had the temerity to ask him about Jon Rahm. 

It also appears PGA Tour stars are divided over whether he is the right man to lead the established circuit into the future. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Monahan press conference unless he was asked about Woods. 

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Woods' absence is felt here and it was widely expected the 2001 and 2013 Players champion would be in the 144-man field this week. 

That was because Woods declared in late 2023 he believed this year he would be healthy enough to play at least once a month. 

Woods has only made one PGA Tour start in 2024 and was forced to withdraw because of the flu. 

We were led to believe Woods would make the Players a tune-up ahead of next month's Masters. Now that appearance at Augusta National is in doubt. 

Given Woods' limited schedule these days, it would be impossible for him to qualify via the FedEx Cup. 

But he's Tiger Woods. 

A reporter asked Monahan: "Tiger hasn't been here, hasn't played here since 2019. Would you embrace or even care to initiate some kind of special category possibly for maybe a past champion up to a certain age to get a one-time exemption to allow him to play here one more time, if he so chooses?"

Monahan was clear in his reply. 

"I think you all know Tiger well enough to know that he wants to earn his way into every competition," he said. "That's his makeup.

"But I think as you go forward and as you evolve as an organization and you think about how do you serve and satisfy a rabid fan base, those discussions more broadly would likely be held at the policy board meeting, and I'm sure we would have that discussion.

"But he would be the hardest one to convince."

Despite not being here this week, Woods could choose to play at least one PGA Tour event before the Masters. 

The Valspar Championship follows the Players and is being staged not far from Woods' Florida mansion. 

There's also opportunities for Woods to play either the Texas Children's Houston Open or the Valero Texas Open before making the trip to Georgia. 

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