NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) – They were voted rookie of the year 20 years ago in their respective sports and quickly piled up championships. Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter finally had a chance to play golf together Monday.
Only one of them is retired.
“He never played golf when he played baseball,’’ Woods said after going nine holes at Albany Golf Club with the former New York Yankees shortstop. “Now that he’s out of baseball, he’s addicted to playing golf. From what I had first heard from some of the guys I know who have played with him, he slashed it around. But now he’s focused. He likes to practice. He likes to play. He does his fitting, tries to get better. You can tell he’s analyzing, he’s watching, he’s asking questions.’’
The group included Jeter’s ex-teammate, Tino Martinez, and Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose.
They played before the rest of the 18-man field began arriving for the Hero World Challenge, a holiday event that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation and suddenly feels a lot more significant because Woods is coming back after 15 months, the longest hiatus of his career.