August 2015 was the last time Tiger Woods stepped on a golf course for a competitive completion. This was until his return on Thursday December 1st at the Hero World Challenge, an event hosted by Woods himself. No one really knew what to expect from Woods entering this tournament. For most of the 2015 season he was awful and missed the cut in three of the four majors. But his last time out he nearly won the Wyndham Championship, finishing in the top 10. And then a back injury took him out all of last season. This was a very long awaited return for one of golf’s all-time greats.
In his first round back Woods came out firing, posting a four under score through the first eight holes, but he stumbled on the final 10 and finished the day at one over par. Day two Woods looked like he turned back the clock 10 years. He fired the third best score of the day at seven under par and went bogey free. His second round got him to within six shots of the lead heading into the weekend. Woods once again came out firing on day three, birding the first three holes and five of the first seven. But like day one, he struggled down the stretch. Woods bogied three of the final six holes, including a double bogey on 18, to card a two under 70. The fourth round was where Woods struggled the most, recording a total of three double bogies and finishing the day at four over par. In the end Woods placed 15 out of only 18 golfers and shot four under par.
His score, and where he finished on the leaderboard, might not have been the best. But when you consider how long Woods was out for, there is no doubt that this was a step in the right direction and an encouraging tournament for Woods. It was to be expected that he was going to have some bad holes and get tired down the stretch. That’s what comes from being rusty and not playing a competitive round of golf in 16 months. But Woods did have the most birdies out of anyone in the field with 24. And at times his iron play looked about as sharp as any ones iron play could be. Also, his short game, which was his biggest struggle during the 2015 season, looked extremely sharp for most of the tournament. It was encouraging to see Woods out on the golf course playing good golf once again. And with more time, hopefully it will build towards a successful 2017 season.