Today is an exciting day in the golf world. Because today is filled with anticipation.
Your head only has to hit the pillow one more time before the greatest golfer (by far) this generation has ever seen, tees it up again in a professional tournament after a long, uncertain hiatus.
And considering where Tiger Woods was with his injured back following multiple surgeries, it was difficult for even the most loyal fans to maintain faith in his comeback. Especially after reports of him having a difficult time standing for extended periods, let alone swinging a golf club.
And anyone who has had back trouble knew that it was possible that Tiger’s ride just might be over with his sunset setting far too soon.
But the curtain hasn’t closed just yet. The Big Cat is back and swinging “pain free.”
So feel free to get excited!
Tiger played a pain-free practice round today at the site of this week’s Hero World Challenge. “The fact that I don’t have any pain in my lower back…it’s just remarkable,” Woods said.More details: http://glfdig.st/fdSgnfH (🎥: Instagram/TGRLiveEvents)
Posted by Golf Digest on Sunday, November 26, 2017
“The fact that I don’t have any pain in my lower back…it’s just remarkable,” Woods said.
Tomorrow, Tiger will tee it up in the Hero World Challenge with many of the top players in the game, some of whom were in diapers when Tiger made his PGA Tour debut.
And what do these young stars think of his game?
When Rickie Fowler was asked after a practice round at The Medalist whether or not Tiger was hitting it by him, Rickie said, “Oh yeah. Way by.”
Brad Faxon uttered similar sentiments after a recent round with Dustin Johnson, Tiger and Donald Trump.
“I was impressed with how far he hit the ball. Probably on the 10 holes that they were both hitting driver, Tiger hit it past Dustin half the time and Dustin hit it past Tiger half the time. He looked great. I think more than anything, he looked at ease. He was not concerned about swinging hard and going at it with driver. The ball flight, the sound off the club, all of it was right there.”
Captivating stuff. And apparently the rest of his game is coming around nicely. But we will find out tomorrow if it can hold up during the pressure of tournament conditions.
Patience will be key. Both for him and for us as fans, and only time will tell.
The reigning PGA Champion Justin Thomas, a player that grew up idolizing Tiger, gave fans a reason to be hopeful when he recently said, “People are going to be shocked at how good his game looks.”
But JT, who will be paired with Tiger on Thursday, wasn’t about to hand back the keys to the car without a fight, as he further explained when asked about Tiger’s return:
“I’m probably just as excited to watch it as you are. I just get a front row seat to it on Thursday … But I’m also looking forward to trying to kick his ass, to be perfectly honest.”
Them some fightin’ words JT!
And what could be spicier than the thought of Tiger and JT, or any of the other great young players battling The Striped One on the back nine on a Sunday?
But for now, lets just be elated that we’ll get to see that Sunday red one more time.
(Featured photo by Getty Images)