Tiger Woods returns next week. Here’s more to come

When, on Friday afternoon, ESPN released a short clip of Tiger Woods hitting the big screen, it was a reminder of what will happen in 2025. Woods will return to play championship golf (we think). The TGL season will start, too (we’re pretty sure). The PGA Tour season will launch in Hawaii (we’re pretty sure about this one). And then we’ll be ready to dive in.

But Woods’ appearance was also a reminder that 2024’s junior golf tournament remains. Woods skipped last week’s Hero World Challenge, citing his unpreparedness to play (and travel) 72 holes against the world’s best. But this week he will be competing in the PNC Championship in Orlando with his son, Charlie, giving us our first look at Woods’ performance since the Open Championship in July.

But what else is golf getting into before the New Year hits? Here are five things to watch in golf before the year is out, starting with Tiger and continuing on from there.

1. PNC Tournament

I say this sincerely: the day before The PNC Championship is one of the best non-tournament programs pro golf has all year. The Golf Channel team will be busy on the course, picking up the best nuggets of gold from their legends and children, each relieved by the other’s presence. Just last year we had Lee Trevino talk about his daily routine and Padraig Harrington’s diving philosophy over the course of a few minutes. Come Tiger and Charlie, stay for everything else. And that’s before the competition even starts!

Once we get started it’s a lot of fun, too, especially when you’re with the family for the holidays – PNC is a great team watch. I’m very excited about the addition of Fred Couples to the role this year, and with Justin and Mike Thomas out I think there’s a good chance we’ll see Couples on Woods’ team…

2. “The Showdown”

Crypto dot com Showdown, I must say, coming to you on Tuesday, Dec. 17th at 6 pm ET from Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Is this the bad blood battle everyone has been dreaming of? Kind of. There are a lot of good things about this: Brooks and Bryson versus Rory and Scottie, including four of golf’s biggest names and personalities. LIV competes with the PGA Tour, with the opportunity to compete for real in an exhibition game. It’s Tuesday night, there’s no football to contend with. It is a six-hole match, mixing formats and ending in singles. And it’s Dec. 17 – what else do you have?!

Sure, maybe there’s an edge taken off the whole thing, knowing that all four of these pros want golf to come together, knowing that McIlroy and Koepka played together in the Grove XXIII members’ tournament last week, knowing that there’s something great. the vibes are a rivalry between this group. But there’s plenty of competitive fire, too. If these guys have one thing in common it’s that they really hate to lose. That is our win.

3. Mauritius Open

What do I know about this golf tournament? Not much except dates, Dec. 19-22, the defending champion, Louis Oosthuizen, and the fact that it’s calling itself “Golf’s Greatest Week.” Epic. If you live outside the United States or if you wake up at odd times, looking for golf coverage, this could be for you. This is the final event of the year for the DP World Tour — yet, ironically, it is also one of the first of the season, approaching the opening of the world circuit in southern Africa after last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and this weekend’s Alfred Dunhill Championship. . What will happen at Mont Choisy Le Golf? Get up in the morning, open up and find out.

4. ‘Warmness’ is coming back

This is a potentially problematic entry because this is my YouTube series, but here we go. Our first season of Warming Up produced some of my favorite interviews of my professional life – I got to do driving interviews with a number of great talents, delving into the process and mindset with everyone from Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. to Fred Couples, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland. Who’s next? I’ll just give you a hint that he won a big tournament recently. At least one. You can register here so you don’t miss out…

One favorite from last season, just to sample:

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5. Two interesting papers

I don’t know if they’re interesting because of the actual content or just because I think it’s interesting that they exist, period. Maybe they really interest me. But there are two team golf docs I’m still in the middle of and while I’m not ready to give a full endorsement I’m at least curious what you’ll think of them. On YouTube there are docuseries following LIV’s Majestic, the team managed by Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, as they struggle through LIV’s 2024 season from the bottom of the table. And next week there is a strange, documentary following the construction of TGL’s Boston business, which should have various problems – the collapse of the dome, the rebellion of the team member Tyrrell Hatton, etc. – and an interesting account of the launch of the league. Do I wish that both documents were created independently, without editorial guidance from the people involved? Definitely, 1000 percent yes. That would investigate some existential questions about what we’re all doing here. But we’ll take what we’ve got. It is the middle of December after all.