Fred Couples is all-in on the Tiger Woods hype train as he believes another Green Jacket could be lying in wait if the latest comeback goes to plan.
As he returned to action at the Hero World Challenge, Woods said that a best-case scenario for him would see him tee it up for one tournament a month including the Majors.
Ankle fusion surgery has cleared Woods of the major source of discomfort he felt while walking the golf course - although the extent of his injuries and surgeries needed following his car accident mean he'll always have his problems.
The 15-time Major champion has always said swinging the club was never the biggest issue, so if he has found a way to walk four rounds of tournament golf without pain then this latest comeback could stick.
And Couples is in no doubt that if Woods can play regular golf without problems then there's no reason why he wouldn't be able to challenge for the Masters title next April.
"He's won his whole life, and if he feels as healthy and as good as it sounds..." Couples said on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio.
"I don't think in the last year or so he really sounded this good. He's fresh.
"If he can possibly play once a month and show up at Augusta, why wouldn't he be a favourite?"
Is major win #16 in the making? Tiger was very confident when asked if he can win again, and that has Fred Couples and George Downing excited about his prospects at Augusta National in April.@fredcouplesgolf | @coachgeorge805 | @TheMasters | @TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/5EF9rzmwibNovember 29, 2023
Couples is a big friend of Woods so knows his game well, but he's also an expert around Augusta as a Green Jacket winner in 1992 and a name that has regularly popped up near the top of the leaderboard even in his advancing years.
And despite changes over the years, Augusta National is the ultimate horses for courses track, so if Woods was ever able to add to his 15 Majors then you'd think the Masters would be the most likely.
Five of Woods' 15 Major titles have come at Augusta, it's where he capped a previous remarkable comeback with victory in 2019 and he even made the cut in 2022 just over a year after his car crash.
We'll have to see how he reacts to a return to golf first, and Woods has his doubters as well as his believers - it's pretty clear which camp Couples falls into.
