Fans are expectant, pundits are in full opinionated flow and, with the U.S. PGA Tour taking a break until January, the great bulk of golfing attention is now focused on one player. Not just any player, of course, but the greatest or second greatest one (for those in Jack Nicklaus’s corner) in the history of the game.
Tiger Woods is due to officially return to competition next week, at the Hero World Challenge 18-player invitational event he hosts in the Bahamas.
The 14-time major winner (Nicklaus has 18 – for the record), who will turn 42 on 30 December, has made just 19 starts, including one in 2017, at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, since winning five times on the U.S. PGA Tour in 2013. He shot 76-72 in the Farmers to miss the cut, and announced in April that he had undergone back fusion surgery – his fourth back operation in three years.
Understandably, the sceptics are legion: from those who believe he will never return to the days of his golden past to others who doubt his comeback will even continue past the Hero World Challenge.
Then there is the other camp, of friends, colleagues – and wishful thinkers. Jason Day, for example, was asked at the Australian Open this week what he thought. A close friend and confidante of Woods, he said, "I did talk to him and he did say it's the best he's ever felt in three years. He doesn't wake up with pain anymore, which is great. I said to him, 'Look, it's great to be one of the best players ever to live, but health is one thing that we all take for granted and if you can't live a happy, healthy life, then that's difficult.’
"I totally understand where he's coming from, because sometimes I wake up in the morning and it takes me 10 minutes to get out of bed, and for him to be in pain for three years is very frustrating."
Day also said the Hero's relaxed atmosphere would be the perfect platform to return. "There's no pressure… there's no cut, he's playing at a tournament where last year I think he had the most birdies at."
Apart from his surgery and convalescence, Tiger has also had to deal with another troubling issue in recent months: his arrest on 29 May when police in Jupiter (Florida) found him on the side of the road, at 2 a.m., passed out at the wheel of his damaged car, under the influence of potent opioids and other prescription drugs.
He underwent treatment for drug addiction at an undisclosed location, and recently pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving in exchange for his participation in community service, random drug testing, DUI school and checking in regularly with a probation officer.
Career Record in Numbers
Earlier this month, Golf Digest published a stats-related report on Tiger, a “walk down memory lane” and a countdown (at the time) of the 14 days remaining until his latest comeback. It provides some valuable insight (if that is needed) into just how his impressive his career has been to date…
14: Tiger's number of career major titles. Duh.
13: The number of years – that's right, YEARS – Tiger has spent at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. To be exact, Tiger has spent 683 weeks in the top spot, which is more than double Greg Norman (331 weeks), who is second on the list.
12: The number of consecutive matches Woods won during his back-to-back victories at the WGC Match Play in 2003 and 2004.
11: Tiger's record number of PGA Tour Player of the Year Awards.
10: Tiger's record number of PGA Tour money titles.
9: Tiger's record number of Vardon Trophies for lowest scoring average.
8: Tiger's record-tying number of wins in one event, doing it at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (Sam Snead won eight Greater Greensboro Opens). Woods has also won eight times at Torrey Pines, including his last major at the 2008 U.S. Open.
7: Tiger's longest PGA Tour winning streak (2006-2007), which only trails Byron Nelson's 11 consecutive victories in 1945.
6: Consecutive USGA titles won by Woods from 1991-1996. Woods claimed three straight U.S. Juniors and three straight U.S. Amateurs.
5: The number of majors Woods still needs to win to pass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. Hey, we can dream, right?
4: The number of consecutive majors Woods won during his "Tiger Slam." Woods won the final three majors of 2000 and then won the 2001 Masters to become the only golfer to hold all four of the sport's modern major trophies at the same time.
3: The number of times Woods has completed the career Grand Slam.
2: Tiger's number of FedEx Cup titles. Woods won the inaugural FedEx Cup in 2007 as well as the 2009 edition. He remains the cup's only multiple-time winner.
1: The number of good legs on which Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open. Incredible.
