Tiger Woods is adding to his 2018 schedule ahead of the Masters.
After a good recovery week I’m committing to play in the @ValsparChamp and @APinv next two weeks.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 2, 2018
Woods will unsurprisingly play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, but has also added the Valspar Championship. This will be Woods’ first appearance in the Valspar and it should be a good test for him ahead of Augusta as the Copperhead course at Innisbrook doesn’t look like most of the tournament courses in the state of Florida.
David Duval believes this is a good test for Woods ahead of the Masters:
“I think it’s imperative that he should go play Valspar, (with the assumption that he’ll) more than likely play Bay Hill,” Duval said. “But I think he’ll play Valspar. It’s a good place to work on all parts of your game. And you don’t have to drive it a ton there. You’ve got to deal with swirling winds, elevation changes. So, I think it would be a very good thing for him to go play Valspar. It looks like it’s about reps and about exposure, putting yourself under the gun and seeing how you perform and how your golf swing holds up. A couple more opportunities to do that would be very beneficial.”
I second that. Woods obviously still needs the reps before the first major of the year, which is clearly his sole focus at this point in time. Innisbrook will give Woods a good test with elevation changes and swirling winds like we see at Augusta. With it being ahead of the APInv, it will allow him a couple of weeks after to rest up and get in a few rounds at Augusta before he heads there in April.