Tiger Woods' latest comeback is upon us and this time it's very different compared to two years ago when he returned in the PNC Championship just nine months after his car accident in LA.
I listened to every word of Woods' press conference on Tuesday morning in The Bahamas and a couple things came through very clear. Firstly, he was unhappy at the fact players were left out of the discussions surrounding the framework agreement with the PIF, but secondly was that he seems sneakily confident in his fitness and his ability to compete against the world's best.
Woods never likes to talk up his chances and usually gives very little away but it certainly seemed a different Woods to the one last year that was telling us he'll never play a full schedule again and is really struggling to walk. The fusion surgery on his ankle has hopefully done the job of prolonging his career at the elite level for another year or two.
Two years ago Woods turned up in Florida riding his cart alongside son Charlie and it was clear that walking was a big issue for him. It continued to be in 2022 and all the way through to The Masters this year, where he was in pain with arthritis and plantar fasciitis.
It led to him being faced with two options, as he said in his press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge - replace or fuse his ankle. He went with the fuse option, which worked wonders on his back in 2017. The surgery in April, he says, was a "success" and he's now walking pain-free, albeit with pain in his knee and back.
"I'm not concerned at all about walking it. It's more, as I said, I don't have any of the ankle pain that I had with the hardware that's been placed in my foot, that's all gone.
"The forces go somewhere else. Just like when I had my back fused, the forces have to go somewhere. So it's up the chain," he said.
While he admitted he's curious to see how he gets on when he puts pencil to paper for the first time in seven months, he had a quiet confidence around him that his health and game could allow him to have a busy year in 2024 by admitting he hopes to play one event per month.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner hasn't played more than nine events since 2019 - when he won The Masters. A 12-event schedule would see the most match-sharp Woods in a good few years, with 2023 seeing just three starts (including this week), three in 2022, none in 2021 and nine in 2020.
Woods will be 48 when the new year rolls around, which is still two years younger than when Phil Mickelson won his sixth Major at the 2021 PGA Championship, and the 15-time Major champion is "absolutely" confident he can win again.
"I love competing, I love playing. I miss being out here with the guys, I miss the camaraderie and the fraternity-like atmosphere out here and the overall banter," he said when asked of his motivations for another return to the tour.
"But what drives me is I love to compete," he continued. "There will come a point in time, I haven't come around to it fully yet, that I won't be able to win again. When that day comes, I'll walk - well, now I can walk. I won't say run away, but I'm going to walk away."
‘@TigerWoods didn’t skip a beat. 🐯 pic.twitter.com/waTa9sRMCPNovember 28, 2023
With the hope of playing one event per month next year, a pain-free Tiger Woods will almost certainly win again.
He still bombs his driver well over 300 yards, he's one of the best iron players of all time and one of the best putters, too. If he's pain free, it means he'll be match-sharp and even a 48-year-old match-sharp Tiger Woods is a world beater.
His experience and competitive edge are like no other on tour, so the only thing missing will be his health. Whether he actually will be pain-free while both walking, hitting shots and grinding away at home on the practice green is another question.
If anyone can do it, Tiger can. You simply cannot write him off...yet.
He was asked about a potential Rafa Nadal tennis comeback and came out with another great line.
"He knows that Father Time is here. Every athlete faces it. Although some sports it happens faster than others, and unfortunately just like every sport, you get aged out."
Has Woods been aged out in golf? Not just yet.
This next chapter of Woods' career inside the ropes may well be the final one when it comes to competing at the elite level. If his body gives up on him, he will have to call it a day. If it allows him to stay out on Tour competing in 12 events in a single year, it's set to be another memorable chapter in a career like no other.
