Is Tiger Woods Set to Announce Retirement?
Late Sunday, major news networks reported that Tiger Woods would make an announcement on the Golf Channel today at 11 a.m. ET. However, Woods’ agent has reportedly told the Associated Press that the event was only a rumor.
"There's an erroneous report that he's making an announcement, but he's not," said Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, according to AP.
On the heels of an announcement that he would not participate in the British Open this week due to injuries, some speculation has flooded the Internet about the 35-year-old ending his season early or indefinitely. Writers at NBC Sports’ ProGolfTalk blog have said “he’s done for 2011” and “he’s going to retire” in anticipation of the surprise announcement.
Woods is nursing both knee and Achilles injuries which have affected his ability to compete recently and forced him to miss a second consecutive major. The golfer has won 14 majors in his career, the last of which occurred in 2008, before an extramarital scandal.
Recently, the golfer said he would like to break the record of Jack Nicklaus, who has won 18 majors. Despite all the speculation, the golf legend isn’t ready to count Tiger out just yet.
"He's a very determined and talented young man, and I think he’s determined to get himself healthy,” Nicklaus told the BBC. “He’s still plenty young enough to play a lot of good golf. I think you’ll see a lot from Tiger."
If the announcement were to take place, NPR reported that Kelly Tilghman would conduct the Tiger Woods interview for the Golf Channel.
When the network contacted the Golf Channel to inquire about a Tiger Woods appearance, they failed to confirm or deny the rumors of an announcement taking place. Instead, they simply told the news source, “stay-tuned to see.”
