Some reports from the United States suggest that Tiger Woods has told people close to him that his plan is to play five or six regular tournaments of the PGA Tour next year and that walking the 18 holes is no longer a torment for him as we saw in April, when after making the cut he had to withdraw from the Masters on a cold, rainy, unpleasant, ugly day. This week, however, is beautiful and happy for golf because it marks the return to competition of the winner of 15 Majors, who will appear before the media tomorrow before participating in the Hero World Challenge and will answer all the doubts that hover over his physical condition and his planning for 2024.
The winner of 82 PGA Tour tournaments will once again play a dual role as host and participant in the Hero World Challenge, in Albany (Bahamas), and last week it was announced that he will compete alongside his son Charlie in the PNC Championship for the fourth consecutive year. These are two very different situations for Woods, as the Hero requires walking 72 holes, while the PNC (36 flags) allows the use of a buggy.
In an interview with the Associated Press two weeks ago, Woods said he felt no pain in his right ankle, which he had surgery on in April. “It’s the other areas that have been compensated,” Tiger said, comparing his current situation to when he underwent surgery in the lumbar area and said that the L5 and S1 vertebrae were fine. “But in all the surrounding areas is where I had all my problems and I still have them,” he asserted.
However, regardless of physical problems, Woods has always been a fighter. And the fact that he has been working on his return to action, starting in Albany, where Viktor Hovland will seek his third title in this tournament, will make an already exciting week much more fun.
While a video of Woods hitting shots at a clinic and then caddying for his son at a youth event has surfaced, it was still a slight surprise that he decided to play in his annual event in the Bahamas. In the tournaments he has played in the last two years, Tiger has shown little difficulty hitting the ball, leading many to wonder how well he would do if he could simply make the path to the ball easier.
Among the many questions that Tiger will likely have to answer tomorrow, he may be asked about the framework agreement between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Since that news came to light on June 6, Woods has been appointed to the PGA Tour Policy Board.
In principle, expectations about his performance in Albany should be low because he has not competed in almost eight months. But the Hero is a good place to return, a flat course with warm temperatures where he can assess how he is doing. From there, it will be easier to think about his evolution. Woods is now ranked 1,316 in the world golf ranking, the lowest in his history, and will turn 48 on December 30.
