Tiger Woods is back! Without a coach, in a new outfit and with an appetite for the game

Will Tiger Woods ever return to the course and play a world-class professional golf tournament again? This is a question that fans around the world have been asking themselves for months. The answer is yes. This Thursday, Tiger Woods starts at The Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour. But in what form is he returning to the scene?

First of all, it should be noted that he’s a year older again. After all the events and surgeries, it’s hard for him to be one of the sport’s leaders at the age of forty-eight. But he’s ready to play and that’s the most important thing. Not only for himself, but for the whole world of golf.

Whether Tiger Woods is playing at the top or the bottom of the leaderboard, he is an unforgettable icon of the sport. His word will always carry more weight than others. And when he walks on the course, there’s no one else the crowd will follow him.

It’s not for nothing that he’s returning to The Genesis Invitational. He himself has hosted this tournament, for many years it’s a tournament that, circumstances permitting, he usually doesn’t miss. It was also the first professional tournament he ever attended as an amateur at the age of 16.

Recall that Woods has had dozens of back surgeries and a car accident, after which he miraculously walked away with only a broken ankle. Another small miracle is that he can even walk and make golf moves today. It’s a combination of top doctors and his iron will. Nothing more, but nothing less.

So when Tiger was asked by reporters at a press conference if he was feeling the effects of these surgeries, he replied without hesitation, “Yes, absolutely. Every day.” He added: “It‘s part of the operations and rehabilitation. But I’m excited to host this tournament and to play here,” he remarked at the press conference, his words quoted by the official PGA Tour website.

Renewing career of Tiger Woods under a new brand

In late November and early December, Woods was on the course for the first time in a long time to play the unofficial Hero World Challenge. There, he said he would like to play one tournament a month starting in the new season. The Genesis Invitational is just about to be the first stepping stone in his similar career that many people didn’t even believe in anymore.

Is he able to play? Probably yes, or he wouldn’t be in the starting field in Los Angeles. That’s just the way Tiger is. Is he capable of winning again? That’s another question. With all due but absolute respect, it will be a miracle if he ever does. His motivation is definitely taken care of.

Together with Sam Snead, he has 82 titles. He’s just one win away from being alone in first place and staying there for many years (maybe forever).

He’ll be walking the field in a brand new Sun Day Red clothing line he unveiled this week. After terminating his longtime contract with Nike, he high-fived TaylorMade and they created a successor to replace the clothing line under the TW (Tiger Woods) label.

He doesn’t even have a trainer at the moment because, as he said, his body behaves differently from moment to moment: ‘Week to week, it just looks a little different. I can’t really adapt to any one swing style,” he remarked to golf.com.

He needs to improvise more. Be more careful, take more care of his body to try to get back into rhythm. But as he says with a positive attitude, “I can still hit the ball,” which is practically the most important thing in the fundamentals of all of golf.

Source: PGA Tour, golf.com