In what seems like an annual event now, it's the time of year where Tiger Woods is once again gearing up for a comeback to professional golf.
The 15-time Major champion returned at the PNC Championship last year after just three starts in Majors, following his 2021 return at the PNC Championship that incredibly came just ten months after his near-career-ending car accident in LA.
This time it feels different, though, as Woods was clearly not anywhere close to 100% over the past two years. He had his leg and ankle fixed up with screws and pins but constantly told us how he could play golf fine with walking the main issue.
In April 2023, after withdrawing from The Masters midway through the third round, Woods decided to have surgery after struggling with plantar fasciitis - a foot problem that stems from the heel, with Woods' joint turning arthritic. Its no surprise he was struggling to walk, and you wonder how he even managed four rounds at the Genesis Invitational and then two solid rounds at Augusta to make his 23rd-consecutive Masters cut.
He had a subtalar fusion surgery, which fused together bones below his ankle joint with the goal of taking away the pain of the arthritis and plantar fasciitis following the recovery work on his foot post-car crash. Foot and ankle surgeon Nima Heidari told us that the surgery would slightly reduce the mobility in the joint below his ankle but would allow him to once again walk pain free.
Six-and-a-half months on from that surgery, which usually takes three months to heal, we're seeing evidence that Woods is able to walk pain-free again. He was spotted hitting wedge shots in October at a clinic before caddying for his son Charlie for three days straight at a junior tournament - where he carried the bag instead of pushing a cart.
“He said that he’s started practicing, which I think is a great sign,” Stewart Cink told the Golf Channel. “I don’t know what he’s practicing for, but he said he started practicing, so that means he’s in ‘go mode’ for something.”
The signs are all pointing to a revitalised Woods. His back fusion surgery in 2017 led to him almost winning the PGA Championship and Open in 2018 before victory at the Tour Championship, which was followed with his 15th Major victory at the 2019 Masters. He went on to win his 82nd PGA Tour title in October 2019, too, at the Zozo Championship.
If the ankle fusion is as successful as the back fusion was, there's definitely cause for some optimism ahead of this latest return.
The fact that he's already been walking for three days straight as recently as this past weekend, there's definitely hope he can play in his Hero World Challenge later this month - where there's one spot left for him in the 20-man field.
Then there's the PNC Championship two weeks after, which he'll almost certainly play in again alongside son Charlie. The PNC allows competitors to use a cart, too, and it's only over two days so Woods will enjoy a less demanding physical test.
We'll then see him in the TGL, his virtual golf league spearheaded by his and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Sports. The first week is 9th Jan followed by week 2 on the 16th. That will require very minimal walking, with the games lasting just two hours.
All being well, his next PGA Tour start would come at Riviera in the Genesis Invitational, taking place in mid-February. If he's feeling good after the PNC, he could certainly turn up in LA with some game after a month of practice in January. He hosts the Genesis and it's the tournament he attended with his father as a child, the old LA Open, and also the scene of his PGA Tour debut in 1992.
If he's feeling really good we could even see him out earlier. The Farmers Insurance Open is another favorite of his, taking place at Torrey Pines - where he has won eight times including the 2008 US Open.
Following on from February, it'd be a case of how his body holds up on where his next appearance could be. The likely next start would be Augusta. This year, for example, his first two, and only, starts were Genesis-Augusta. In between Riviera and Augusta, though, there are a couple of big tournaments that mean a lot to him. The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill is an event he's won eight times, while the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass is the PGA Tour's Major and an event he's won twice.
So those are the events we can potentially see him tee it up in on this next potential return, but what should we expect from him?
We should expect very little at the Hero World Challenge if he does play, considering the field is absolutely stacked and he hasn't played a competitive round since April.
If his body is back in a place where he's comfortable and the ankle fusion has been a huge success like we're hoping, it could well mean he's set to have a successful return in 2024. His biggest issue over the past couple of years has been his body and in particular how it hasn't allowed him to practice as hard as he's needed to in order to be sharp.
His putting hasn't looked anywhere like it was in the past, with Woods undoubtedly one of the best putters of all time. He would also make mental errors and throw in plenty of un-Woods-like shots to rack up bogeys and worse from seemingly nowhere. He hasn't looked sharp enough and that has surely been down to the lack of work he's been able to put in on the practice ground.
We can certainly expect him to be hitting bombs, as he was comfortably outdriving Justin Thomas at the 2023 Genesis Invitational and even keeping up with Rory McIlroy at times. From fairway to green, though, he'll need to sharpen up.
If his body can allow him to practice the way he needs to then we can expect a lot from Tiger next year. If he still can't put the work in that he needa to, then we may be seeing him battling to make cuts again.
Whatever happens, it's going to be an enjoyable ride.
