What new hobby has Tiger taken up during lockdown?

With the PGA Tour on an indefinite hiatus as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s top golfers have found themselves with a lot of unexpected downtime on their hands. 

For Tiger Woods, the mid-season off-season has given him the chance to take up a new hobby. 

Doing jigsaws.

Speaking to GOLFTV’s Henni Zuel, the 15-time major winner revealed how he has passed the time puzzling with his family.

“I’ve been trying to help [daughter] Sam and [girlfriend] Erica with this ungodly puzzle that they have,” said Woods. “They have just finished a 2,000-piece puzzle, and now there’s a 3,000-piece puzzle. 

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“I struggled as I’m partially colourblind. I don’t know certain colours so I find myself asking is this right, ‘Is that right?’ They get sick and tired of me asking. They end up shooing me away. Once the borders are done though, I’m useless. I can’t disseminate colours as well as they can.”

The 44-year-old also shared his sadness at not being able to defend his Masters title this week and revealed how he and his family still went ahead with the Champions Dinner he had intended to host last night.

“We had steak and chicken pieces, sushi and sashimi,” he said. “We had cupcakes and milkshakes for dessert. So it was exactly what I was going to serve. We had a lot of fun and eventually it got a little bit interesting at the end, a little ugly, where icing was flowing across people’s hair and face, and so we had a little bit of fun at the end.”

Woods hasn’t hit a golf ball competitively since the final round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 16. Between then and golf’s coronavirus-enforced shutdown on March 12, the former world No.1 had been sidelined with back problems. 

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However, he insists that he will be fit and ready to get back out there when professional golf finally resumes.

“I feel a lot better than I did then,” he said. “I’ve been able to turn a negative into a positive and been able to train a lot and get my body to where I think it should be at. I’ve been able to play some golf. Fortunately, Medalist Golf Club is still open here. Virtually every course to the south of us is closed but we remain open, so it’s been nice to go out there and hit some golf balls a little bit.”

Woods explained how he has even been able to make his practice sessions competitive thanks to his 11-year-old son Charlie.

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“We have a deal, in the back yard generally every night, we’ll go and play putting matches and the winner gets to keep the green jacket in the closet. 

“Occasionally it’s gone into his closet, primarily it’s stayed in mine but he’s been able to earn it off me because there are no wins that are given in this family. It’s been fun to see him tease me about beating me and being able to wear the jacket and have it in his closest where he says it belongs. It goes back and forth, and we’ve had a lot of fun with that.”

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