Tiger Woods is set to compete at the Hero World Challenge this weekend. It will mark his first start since the third round of The Masters last April.
Although the pain he was dealing with in the spring no longer exists, he is still hurting in his back and knees. Tiger Woods walks with a pretty significant limp.
As could be expected, the hitch in his giddy-up did not keep him from showing up to the tournament in great shape! The 47-year-old looks jacked, per usual.
Woods said on Tuesday that his game feels rusty because he wasn’t played in awhile. There are no expectations for his performance at the Hero World Challenge.
I’m excited to compete and play, and I’m just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven’t done it in a while.
— Tiger Woods
This will be his first professional round back after having surgery to fuse his subtalar less than eight months ago. The procedure addressed Wood’s post-traumatic arthritis from a car accident in February 2021 and cleared up the pain that forced him to withdraw at The Masters.
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 other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back. 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.
— Tiger Woods
Should things go well this weekend, Woods’ improved health could allow him to play more often in 2024. He hopes to play one tournament per month.
I think that’s realistic. You would have to start with maybe at Genesis and something in March near the Players […]
[The PGA Tour schedule] sets itself up for that. Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction.
— Tiger Woods
Woods is currently scheduled to compete in the pro-am competition on Wednesday. From there, he will compete against 19 other golfers over 72 holes from Thursday through Sunday.
Walking 90 holes in five days might sound like a daunting task for Woods, because it is. However, his most recent surgery targeted and eliminated the most excruciating pain.
Tiger caddied for his son, Charlie Woods, during a junior tournament earlier this month. It required him to walk 54 holes and carry a bag. Once Woods was able to do that, he knew it was time to get back on the course.
Playing golf, while difficult in terms of forced changes in technique, is not going to cause him too much pain. The walking is the issue, and Woods is up for the task at the Hero World Challenge!