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Run through whatever Rolodex you might have of top Tiger Woods memories. There amongst the fist pumps, and the major moments, and the countless wins, is surely a snapshot of time from a year ago.
It was at the PNC Championship, an unexpected add to Woods’ COVID calendar, that we caught a glimpse of Tiger the Dad. Yes, he was there to hit some shots and sign some autographs, but the star of the show last year in Orlando was 11-year-old Charlie Woods, whose swing more than resembled that of his old man and whose joie de vivre cracked a few grins from golf’s fiercest competitor.
It’s fitting, then, that this week the PNC plays host to a comeback that’s unexpected even by Tiger’s standards. It was less than 10 months ago, on Feb. 23, that Woods careened off a winding Southern California road, charging more than 80 mph downhill when he lost control of his rental car and ended up in a roadside ditch. The damage to his body was extensive: open fractures to both the upper and lower parts of his right leg, plus significant trauma to his right ankles. Surgeries ensued, the kinds that feature heavy metal going in and staying in. Woods’ right leg is now rebuilt with rods, screws, pins and a little bit of elbow grease following a three-week hospital stay.
So this summer, as he ticked off minor milestones like making a public appearance and bearing weight with his injured leg, a return to golf was hardly in consideration. But progress came quickly: a 3-second “making progress” swing video that nearly melted the internet; an upbeat appearance earlier this month at his Hero World Challenge. When he spent more time hammering range balls than tending to tournament host duties, the signal was clear: he’s about to get back inside the ropes.
It’s an amazing turnaround, and this week will be a treat for golf fans young and old simply to see Woods don the red and black and take a few swipes. But a hit-and-giggle at the Ritz-Carlton does not equate to PGA Tour competition - even by Woods’ own admission.
The oddsmakers at PointsBet aren’t offering official markets on this week’s event because of the participation of kids, but they did draw up some hypothetical lines: 8.5 birdies in Round 1 for Team Woods; +250 odds for a top-4 finish among the 20-team field.
PNC Championship hypothetical markets (via PointsBet)
Team Woods O/U 8.5 birdies in Round 1
Team Thomas O/U 11.5 birdies in Round 1
Lowest score in Round 1 O/U 58.5
Team Woods to finish in Top 4: Yes +250, No -300
Team Woods to win: Yes +1000, No -2000
Team Korda finishing position O/U 10.5
Winning score O/U 118.5
Just the prospect of having Woods hitting (somewhat) meaningful shots is an exciting one. But listen to his words from earlier this month in the Bahamas, when he admitted that a true return to competition is still a ways away, and his new ceiling at soon-to-be-46 will be a vastly limited PGA Tour schedule.
“I don’t foresee this leg ever being what it used to be. Hence, I’ll never have the back what it used to be, and the clock’s ticking. I’m getting older,” Woods said. “All that combined means that a full schedule and a full practice schedule, and the recovery that it would take to do that - no, I don’t have any desire to do that.”
Inevitably, there will be some that run to the window to get down on Woods’ odds for a 16th major championship simply by seeing his visage slip across a TV screen. He’s listed at +4000 to win the Masters, just three years after he “climbed Everest” en route to his fifth green jacket. He’s out to +5000 for the PGA Championship the following month, returning to Southern Hills in Oklahoma for the first time since his 2007 triumph. Neither are bets you should be in a rush to make.
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Even a return to action at the Masters, less than four months away, could be ambitious. A huge key to Woods playing this week is the ability to ride in a cart instead of walking on his injured leg. This is also 36 holes, not 72, and the format means he doesn’t even have to hit every shot. A week-long trek around Augusta, among the hardest courses to walk on Tour even when fully healthy, is an entirely different ask.
Maybe he’s back for the Masters, assuredly a goal of his internal or otherwise. Maybe a more poetic (and pragmatic) return comes at the 150th Open, played at historic St. Andrews where he has twice lifted the claret jug and where the flat terrain is much more amenable to a man playing on a repaired right leg. But there are miles to go, both literally and figuratively, before he is able to tee it up in a Tour event with a legitimate chance to win - the singular focus and calling card of his entire career.
The fact that he’s able to move off that focal point, to entertain the notion of playing some but not all and perhaps not with trophy count in mind, speaks to a man that has reached a new stage in his career. This is all icing on a historic cake, given that months ago there were credible concerns that he might never swing a club again.
So whatever this latest iteration of the comeback becomes, it starts this weekend in Orlando alongside his 12-year-old son. It’s an environment that is equal parts casual and welcoming, a place where Woods can be a father first instead of a 15-time major champion. The subsequent landing spots won’t be nearly as soft, and this week’s performance shouldn’t be dissected with futures markets in mind. Instead it’s a man with a new lease on life enjoying a couple of rounds with his son.
So enjoy it for what it is - a bit of found money, a holiday treat no one deemed plausible in February. The questions about how his game stacks up, how much practice he can endure, whether his body can handle the stress of contention one more time, can be answered in 2022 and beyond.
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