Tiger Woods sneaks in Tuesday night practice session at Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio — All day Tuesday, they waited for him at Muirfield Village. Fans, wearing favorite shades of Nike-swooshed red, some collar, some mock. One supporter had constructed a large homemade tiger that attached to the top of his hat. Reporters poked their heads out to the range periodically, making sure they hadn’t missed the arrival of Tiger Woods.

“I’ve seen the media buzzing around, but he’s not on site,” Jason Day said midday on the driving range. “That’s okay, you’ll see him tomorrow.”

You’ve heard the term “paper tiger”. Here’s styrofoam Tiger—complete with @Nike stripes. ⁦@TigerWoods⁩ will be prowling around Muirfield Village later this week. ⁦@MemorialGolf⁩ pic.twitter.com/aYOqbxBFY0

— Dave Maetzold (@DMaetzMedia) May 28, 2019

But then, around 6 p.m., as the last of the Tuesday’s practice round fans rolled out of Muirfield Village, Tiger Woods appeared on the driving range. He wore a white hat, blue mock-neck, white shoes and croakies. Caddie Joe LaCava and advisor Rob McNamara joined him for the range session, which was witnessed by just a handful of fans and media members.

It’s been a busy stretch of travel for Woods since missing the cut at the PGA Championship two weeks ago. He was spotted last week at Pebble Beach, the site of June’s U.S. Open. Then he spent some time in Las Vegas, where he hosted Tiger Jam, an annual fundraiser for his foundation. The schedule may partly explain why Woods didn’t show up until Tuesday evening to practice.

Tiger Woods arrives at the Memorial.
An EARLY tee time for Wednesday's Pro-Am, off the 1st tee at 7am, playing with Peyton Manning. pic.twitter.com/41kNHW5wHa

— Jerod Smalley (@JerodNBC4) May 28, 2019

There are plenty of other possible reasons too, of course. Woods knows Muirfield Village intimately; he’s won the Memorial five times, most recently in 2012. Scattered thunderstorms threatened Tuesday’s practice round, too, although the worst of the weather held off.

Woods looked relaxed and cheerful throughout Tuesday’s evening session, working his way through the bag before taking off for the night. He is scheduled to speak with the press Wednesday afternoon.

Woods has an early start Wednesday; he’s scheduled to be in the first pro-am group off No. 1 at 7 a.m., where he is expected to be joined by Peyton Manning for the second consecutive year.

On Thursday, Woods begins his competitive week at 8:26 a.m. alongside Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau.