Golf Year in Review #3: The Return of Tiger Woods

It is a testament to the shadow that he previously cast that it is news when a guy who hadn’t played a competitive round of golf in nearly a year and a half returned to the golf course, and finished higher in a countdown of most notable events of the year in the sport ahead of the fact that four guys who had never won a major all won one this year.

While it is debatable whether or not he is the best to have ever played the game (I don’t think he is), there is no doubt that he is the finest golf player to have played in the last 20 years.

Start when he won in the fall of 1996 to secure his playing privileges on Tour, and thus avoiding the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (or Q School), despite being told by many, including Curtis Strange, that he would be better off getting ready for Q School.

Then, go to his first major win at the 1997 Masters, where he destroyed several Masters and major championship golf records.

Next, look at what he did in 2000, when he turned in what many people consider the finest performance in major championship history. He completely annihilated the field to win the US Open by 15 strokes.

Then, he won his first Open Championship by eight at the Old Course at St. Andrews. To cap the year, he beat Bob May in a playoff to win the PGA.

As if that wasn’t enough, he completed an unprecedented feat in golf by winning the 2001 Masters. Termed the “Tiger Slam,” it was the first time anyone had ever held all four modern major championships at the same time.

Massive numbers of articles and books could and have been written about Woods. Woods has won the second most tournaments in PGA Tour history behind Sam Snead. He has earned more money playing golf than anyone else, even adjusted for inflation. He is second to Jack Nicklaus in major championships won. He is one of five men to have won all four modern major championships and the youngest to have done so.

The list goes on and on.

Over the past several years, however, life on Tour and the act of swinging a golf club since he was old enough to walk have taken a toll on his life and body.

His last major championship was the 2008 US Open, which he won on a broken leg over Rocco Mediate in a playoff.

His marital infidelities came to light late in 2009, and since 2008 he has had a multitude of injuries to his legs and back, some of which have required surgery and extended time off the golf course.

The last time we saw Tiger on the golf course before the Hero World Challenge (Woods’ own event) was in Aug. 2015.

But he finally came back and played earlier this month, finishing 15th out of 17 players.

He won’t be the player he was. It’s just not possible for anyone to play at that level after all he has been through and at his age, but it is important for him to return to the Tour.

Woods is still a draw, even if he doesn’t win. And as we watch this generation’s greatest players move into the twilight of their careers, the return of Woods to competitive golf is an incredibly big story.

Cover Image via Flickr