The first tee shot of Tiger Woods' latest professional comeback is yet to be struck, and there is already some chatter about what the 15-time Major winner's schedule will look like once he resumes in earnest.
Woods has not played competitively since withdrawing from The Masters in April and undergoing ankle surgery to sort out post-traumatic arthritis from a previous fracture.
He announced plans to return at this week's Hero World Challenge earlier in November and has been seen hitting balls a couple of times in the public domain while also caddying for son Charlie at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship.
But just days before teeing it up in a stacked 20-man field at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, one reporter is claiming he has heard how often Woods plans to feature in the golf's ever-increasing schedule during 2024.
Taylor Zarzour - speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio - explained that the 47-year-old is thinking about only playing up to six tournaments next year but that his struggles to walk are significantly less than they had been.
Zarzour said: "On all accounts, and I've talked to a number of people down in South Florida that have been around Tiger lately, he's not limping as much as he was. He's walking much better.
"And he's telling people - and he doesn't say much about forecasting for the future - but he's telling people that he thinks he can play five or six tournaments in 2024, that walking isn't going to be as much of a problem as it was over the last couple of years."
"He's not limping as much as he was"Taylor Zarzour gives an update on what he's heard about Tiger's health heading into The Hero World Challenge. pic.twitter.com/8nfl1H5W9RNovember 27, 2023
With exemptions for The Masters, The Open, The PGA Championship, and The US Open, four of Woods' 'five or six' events could well be taken up by attempting another crack at adding Major number 16 next year. Otherwise, he is almost certain to play at Riviera Country Club in February when he hosts the Genesis Invitational, potentially leaving space for just one more as things stand.
But should Woods come back fit and firing with no further issues, the opportunity to rock up at The Players in mid-March could prove tempting - a chance he earned as a result of his famous win at Augusta National Golf Club in 2019.
Elsewhere, a handful of starts at locations he has loved over the years may be added in a best-case scenario. Having won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill eight times, the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on seven occasions, and the Jack Nicklaus-founded Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village five times, Woods could ask the organizers for a tee time - should he feel inclined.
But for now, the greatest player of his generation will simply be looking to take it one shot at a time, starting with the opening drive at Albany Golf Club on Thursday.
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