Watch Tiger Woods’ opening drive in his latest comeback
Is Tiger Woods finally back?
On Thursday, Woods teed off at Albany Golf Club at the Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas, in what is his fifth comeback since his first back surgery in 2014. The 18-man tournament represents Woods’ first competitive round since the Dubai Desert Classic in February.
Woods shot a 77 in Dubai, but withdrew from the tournament the next day because of back spasms. He later had another back surgery.
Justin Thomas is paired with Woods on Thursday, and he told the Associated Press that fans will be “shocked at how good his game looks.”
Woods’ first swing on Thursday looked fine, and the PGA Tour shared the video (check out the fortunate bounce for Woods):
And he's back!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 30, 2017
For the first time in 10 months, @TigerWoods has returned to competitive golf. pic.twitter.com/FaZMpTlhLs
Woods had a par on the first hole.
The Associated Press noted that the tournament is unofficial, but offers world ranking points. Woods is at No. 1,199 in the world, and even if he finishes last, he’ll move up more than 200 spots into the top 1,000.
Fans were thrilled to see Woods again, including Golden State star Steph Curry:
The wait is over. The wait is over. @TigerWoods
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 30, 2017
— rich homie quinn (@MightyQ88) November 30, 2017
— Brooke Schrider (@brookeschrider) November 30, 2017
— JJ Killeen (@jjkilleentcu) November 30, 2017
— Bob M (@RealMose30) November 30, 2017
Pete Grathoff: 816-234-4330, @pgrathoff
This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 11:40 AM.