When Tiger Woods' time as a professional golfer is over, which the last two days spent around the Old Orchard are not imminent, his story will be a tapestry written around and through the 'Augusta National Golf Club.

Tiger Woods in training nine months after his accident

Tiger Woods - © KA Sports Photos via Wikimedia Commons

In 1996, during his second appearance at the Masters, Woods was consecrated by Jack Nicklaus himself.

“Arnold [Palmer] and I agree that if you add my Masters [6] and his [4], this kid should earn more than that”, Nicklaus said at the time.

A year later, Nicklaus' prophecy found a big echo when Woods won his first Masters with a 12-stroke lead. It's a historic feat that foreshadows a career that has been framed, for better and for worse, by Augusta National.

There have been five wins, the most recent being his resurrection in 2019 after being sidelined by so many injuries, and plenty of comebacks, especially following the 2009 scandal after not playing for five months.

Monday was a new, equally exciting chapter for Woods at Augusta National. After weeks of speculation, he arrived at the first major tournament of the year on Sunday and played a calm and comfortable nine-hole practice round after the course was cleared of fans and media. By all accounts, he looked like a man ready to play his first official event since the 2020 Masters, which was postponed until the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When he arrived at Augusta National shortly before 14 p.m. (local time) Monday, the scene was nothing calm or comfortable. The tournament practice ground was packed as Woods began a warm-up that lasted 28 minutes and 39 shots. Given the impact of last year's car accident on his already bruised body, a "bullet count" makes perfect sense.

As he heads for the first tee, the crowd parts as they do on Sundays with raucous indulgence. The huge gallery cheered on his every measured step, disregarding the club's rigid rules. After two years of tournaments watered down due to the pandemic, this year's Masters was already promising to be historically loud. But Woods' presence on the club grounds - he said on social media on Sunday that his participation in the tournament would depend on his decision - only intensified an already explosive atmosphere.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1511102311598379009

“There is always a commotion around this place. But there's just another level of buzz to see him and watch him play.", said Billy Horschel. "Shoot, I've thought about it in the past, and I might be on the first tee watching it go if my tee time works out and all, just because it's such a special time. »

As for Monday's practice round, which was limited to nine holes (he played the second nine on Sunday and the front nine on Monday), he looked like a man preparing to play a major tournament, not of a man testing the limits of pain and a reconstructed right leg.

He hit his approach to the first hole from 15 feet and his drive at No. 2 into a fairway bunker. As Fred Couples, who along with Justin Thomas played with Woods, explained, "His driver was a machine".

No one has ever won a Monday practice round, but looking back at the past 20 months, Woods is perfectly happy with his smooth return to competition. There was predictable rust and rough edges and it's far too early to talk about how it's going to finish when the more important question is whether it's going to finish.

“You give him a few minutes, you give him some good legs and he swings like that, but now comes the walking part, and I'm not a guy who's going to guess on that. I watched it today, it was phenomenal”, said Couples.

Couples, who admitted that when it comes to Woods' health he's not prying, wasn't interested in predictions but he understands Tiger as well as anyone in golf, "I'm sure he will play on Thursday", he said.

It's an obvious take given Woods' actions. He flew on a day trip last week to test his leg and pain thresholds and was one of the first to venture out on Sunday. The game is set for the Masters, the only question is whether his right leg can handle 72 of golf's most demanding holes.

A flat course in central Florida aboard a golf cart was one thing at last fall's PNC Championship — but Augusta National will be a rolling reminder of how rough the past year and a half has been.

Woods didn't need a reminder, but if he did, the mass of people that surrounded the first hole, with spectators stacked five levels high in many places, was a timely reminder of the how his career is so intertwined with Augusta National.

“I have to start one day”, Woods recently texted Couples.

Maybe the timing is just providence. He chose the Masters for this return because he was simply ready. Or, more likely, he knew it was the perfect place to write the next chapter of his legacy.

To know more : https://www.masters.com

To read our last article on the same subject :

Tiger Woods inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame by his daughter Sam