Nearly all of the world’s top players are heading to The Concession in Bradenton, Florida to take part in the World Golf Championships Workday Championship this weekend. But while the field will represent the strongest competition on tour so far in 2021, all anyone could talk about before the tournament began was Tiger Woods’ car accident.
Woods suffered a car crash on Tuesday in Los Angeles, but was awake on Wednesday after undergoing surgery for multiple leg injuries, according to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Players wish Woods well after accident
In the leadup to the Workday Championship, many top players offered their condolences to Woods and shared their wishes for his eventual return to the tour.
“Just hoping out of a bad situation, the best possible outcome, and I hope he can recover from it and we can see him on the golf course as early as possible,†Jon Rahm said after hearing of the accident. “I know he underwent surgery early this year, so I hope he didn’t damage anything he had done already.â€
“It’s a terrible situation, you never want anything bad to happen to people,†Dustin Johnson told reporters. “Obviously [I] hope for a speedy recovery.â€
BREAKING: Tiger Woods transported to hospital with injuries following vehicle crash with "major damage," LA County Sheriff's Dept. says. pic.twitter.com/hxcGYAig8D
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 23, 2021
Johnson and Rahm come into the Workday Championship as the odds-on favorites to win the tournament. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Johnson at +600 and Rahm at +850, far ahead of the next closest contenders, Rory McIlroy (+1400) and Xander Schauffele (+1400).
Those players, along with other big hitters like Bryson DeChambeau (+2000) could enjoy a big advantage at The Concession. According to NBC analyst Paul Azinger, some of these players will take the biggest problems on the course out of play with their length off the tee.
“I saw what they are going to see and I turned into a 10-eyed creature, and I saw a different golf course,†Azinger told Yahoo Sports. “I saw water that wasn’t in play where it was in play for everyone else. If you have great carry distance, you can make a mockery of it. If you don’t have great carry distance, it’s tough.â€
Workday Championship will test pros around greens
McIlroy, DeChambeau, and Justin Thomas (+1800) will try to contend following a week where all three failed to make the cut. According to Thomas, they’re all in for another tough test this week, as he says The Concession is an “amateur golfer’s nightmare.â€
“It’s very difficult and grainy around the greens and a lot of elevated greens,†Thomas told Yahoo Sports. “You can hit it in a lot of spots around the greens where you’re just kind of chipping it back and forth and having a hard time.â€
Max Homa comes into the Workday Championship as a +6500 long shot to go back-to-back after winning last week’s Genesis Invitational. The man he beat in a playoff to capture that title, Tony Finau, stands as a much more likely contender at +2000.
| WGC-Workday Championship Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook) | |
| Dustin Johnson: +600 | Jon Rahm: +850 |
| Rory McIlroy: +1400 | Xander Schauffele: +1400 |
| Justin Thomas: +1800 | Patrick Cantlay: +1800 |
| Tyrrell Hatton: +1800 | Bryson DeChambeau: +2000 |
| Tony Finau: +2000 | Viktor Hovland: +2000 |
Finau is among the many golfers who extended well wishes to Woods before the event.
“We all know he’s a strong cookie physically, mentally, so if someone’s going to get through this, he will and be back for the better, I’m sure,†Finau said.
