Throwback Thursday: Tiger Woods makes Hero return
It’s not long until another Tiger comeback so we decided to delve into the archives to the last time he was on our screens
The Background
After slipping down to 898th in the world golf rankings and over 460 days since his last tournament appearance it was time.
Tiger Woods was ready for action once again. “I’m not dead, I’m ready to go” he claimed.
It seemed that the famous “Hello world” moment had struck again and the return of the 14-time major champion was about to finally take shape.
The Scene
It wasn’t a spectacular tournament for Tiger, who finished 14 shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama, but rounds of 65 and 70 showed the golfing fraternity a glimpse of what could be.
Vintage Tiger. @GEICO #HeroWorldChallenge pic.twitter.com/Cw9R0WYh1n
— Stadium (@WatchStadium) December 2, 2016
The fist pumps were back. Tiger was gleaming from ear-to-ear. Not even a final round of 76 could dampen the mood.
Woods finished the week with the most birdies (24) out of the 18 man field.
So he was a bit rusty, nothing to worry about. If only it was that simple…
The Legacy
The long-awaited comeback was cut short as he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic in February, citing back problems after an opening of round of 77.
Since then the only insight into his game have been some swing videos that temporarily broke the internet and Rickie Fowler claiming that Woods’ has been hitting the ball past “way past” him during practice.
Return of the Stinger. #starwars pic.twitter.com/R7srIDGXjl
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) October 23, 2017
The former world number one will tee it up alongside the likes of Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day at the Hero World Challenge on 30th November once again.
Let’s hope that this is finally THE comeback we all want.
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Thanks for your concern America – but the Ryder Cup is very much alive
Are you ready to have your heart broken by Tiger again?
Matthew Beedle
Matthew has been playing golf since he was around 13 and took up the game at a local nine-hole municipal course with his friends before joining Pontefract & District Golf Club just over the hedge.
Still a member of Pontefract with a handicap of 3, he currently sits on the board of directors to help with digital and marketing initiatives in order to improve membership and visitor income.
Matthew graduated university with a First Class in Sports Journalism from Leeds Trinity University and has been working in the golf industry since graduating.
NCG’s social media & marketing manager, Matthew’s main job role is to increase website traffic to the National Club Golfer website via our email and social media channels as well as driving entries to grow our NCG Top 100s Tour events amongst other tasks.
Not one to change his equipment too often, Matthew currently plays the TaylorMade M2 driver which has lasted the test of time in his bag. Elsewhere, you’ll find him using the TaylorMade Stealth 2 three-wood with a Ping G425 Crossover 2-iron to aid his long game.
Through his 4-iron to Gap Wedge, Matthew uses the Ping i500 irons accompanied by Ping’s Glide 3.0 56-degree and 60-degree wedges.
Another club that has stood the test of time in his bag is a Nike Method Core MC-3i putter which has had to have the SuperStroke grip changed at least three times. Ball of choice is the Titleist ProV1.
