As the cliché goes – Tiger Woods doesn’t move the needle; he is the needle. That status quo was made clear again on the last day of the 2021 season when Tiger Woods tweeted a 3-second video clip of himself hitting an iron on the practice range with the message, “Making progress.”
It was the first footage of Woods hitting balls since his California car crash in February that caused serious injuries to his right leg and foot. In the video, Woods is wearing a compression sock on his right leg, but his swing looked smooth and unbothered and provided a satisfying thump when he made contact.
The video sent golf social media atwitter, racking up more than 3 million views in three hours and kept steadily climbing. On a day when Collin Morikawa became the first American to win the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai, Rory McIlroy tore his Nike shirt in frustration after a late meltdown in the DP World Championship and the PGA Tour concluded its final event of 2021 in the RSM Classic, it was Tiger’s three seconds that stole the spotlight.
“And just like that the Player impact program number 1 spot is taken,” responded Tony Finau, referencing the $40 million pool the PGA Tour set aside to reward the top 10 influencers on tour. “Great to see the Big Cat back swinging the sticks!”
The Firepit Collective’s Ryan French (aka @acaseofthegolf1) was the first to excitedly declare “Sweet Jesus he’s going to win the Masters next year.”
The post – the first official update from Woods regarding his health and golf since April 7 when he issued a thank-you note and declared he would focus on his recovery – comes two weeks before Woods plays host to a 20-player field in the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas. It hasn’t been announced whether or not he will make his first public appearance at the event.
Woods, 45, has not competed in an official tour event since the Masters on Nov. 15, 2020, when he finished T38 after a final round that included a 10 on the par-3 12th hole. The last time he played competitively was last December in the PNC Championship, partnering with his son, Charlie, to finish seventh behind the winning team of Justin Thomas and his father, Mike.
Thomas, who lives near Woods in Jupiter, Florida, and has been a frequent visitor offering occasional updates about the 15-time major winner’s progress, told the No Laying Up podcast on Nov. 10 that “I know he’s going to try” to make a comeback.
Woods lost control of his car on a curve in a high-speed crash driving to a photo shoot in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 23, two days after presenting Max Homa with the trophy for winning the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. His SUV rolled over into a ravine and hit a tree. Woods had to be extracted from the wreckage and airlifted to a nearby hospital to undergo emergency orthopedic surgery on his leg and foot injuries. He was recovering from another minor back procedure at the time of the accident.
According to a statement posted to Woods’ Twitter account on Feb. 24, a rod was inserted in his right tibia to stabilize the lower leg, which suffered open fractures. “A combination of screws and pins” were used to stabilize injuries to the bones in his foot and ankle while his muscles required “surgical release of the covering” to relieve the pressure in his soft tissues caused by traumatic swelling, the statement said.
Scott Michaux