On Saturday, there could not have been more gladdening news for golf fans than that Tiger Woods was at last returning to the sport after seven months out due to injury and subsequent surgery. The rumour mill churned on and on since the 15-time major winner withdrew from the Masters in April earlier this year in the third round owing to his reaggravating his heel injury.
The way the last three years have particularly panned out for Woods, there were many in the golf community who thought it was the end of the road for the 82-time PGA Tour winner, to all intents and purposes. For months he could not walk properly, let alone practice. Woods wasn’t spotted often but when he was, he was seen walking with a disturbing limp.
The first real sign that Woods may not be far from his return came from a Notah Begay III Junior Golf National qualifier in September in which he caddied for his very talented 14-year-old son Charlie Woods. Then, earlier this month he was on Charlie’s bag again at the tournament proper in Louisiana. 2009 Open winner Stewart Cink too had revealed that Woods himself had told him that he had started practicing. Woods admitted to being sore after caddying four days straight in Louisiana. He further informed that his right ankle which was operated on after the Masters was not troubling him anymore but there were other issues in the surrounding areas. “…But all the surrounding areas are where I had all my problems and I still do. So you fix one, others have to become more hypermobile to get around it, and it can lead to some issues,” AP reported Woods as saying a few days back.
The Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas tees off on November 30, where Woods will be part of a 20-player field. Woods, also the host of the invitational event, had given hints of a possible participation by announcing the names of only 19 players last month and leaving one spot vacant. The Bahamas event is very high-profile with some of the biggest names in golf featuring in it, like world number one Scottie Scheffler, FedEx Cup play-off winner Viktor Hovland, US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Open winner Brian Harman – to name but a few.
The fact that Woods has decided to compete at Albany suggests he is in a good space both mentally and physically. Over the years, the 47-year-old has shown he doesn’t believe in short-cuts so his fans can rest assured that he has not been hasty in regard to his participation in Bahamas.
Ever since his car crash in February 2021, Woods has played very little golf. To be precise, Woods has featured in just five PGA Tour events since the unfortunate accident in California. He has made cuts in four of those but has lasted all four days just twice. Only weeks before the 2023 Masters, Woods had got back to the course at the Genesis Open after many months and finished the tournament without any alarm.
The sport has suffered a lot in the absence of Woods. None of the current golfers can match his aura and charisma, and it may be noted that there are some really, really top-class players around. Fans would hope this time Woods lasts much longer and if possible, overtakes Jack Nicklaus, who has won three more majors than him, and Sam Snead, who has won as many PGA Tour titles. While the possibility of breaking Nicklaus’ record appears a bit far-fetched at present considering Woods has won just one major since 2008, he can definitely get ahead of Snead and become the player with most PGA Tour wins. That would be something! We don’t know how Tiger Woods will fare in the coming months but one thing is sure that the spotlight will be back on golf – all thanks to his much-awaited return.