As a person who has been a Tiger Woods fan since I was five-years-old, I did not have high hopes for Tiger Woods return. Tiger Woods had been returning from a series of injuries for the last three years. In 2017, I ran around for month anticipated his return and telling everyone that this was going to be the return to the "old" Tiger.
In January of 2017, Tiger Woods made his first debut in California where he did not have a good showing in his first two rounds and failed to make the weekend. He played a couple more events in the United States and one overseas where he eventually withdraw.
So when January 2018 come around I found it difficult to get excited about Tiger Woods' third comeback in three years. When people would ask me how I felt about him making his comeback, I would tell them "I hope it happens, but I am not getting too excited about it". That's because every time I get excited about Tiger Woods making his return it never goes the way I anticipated. This year was special.
Of course for the first few tournaments I did not have high hopes for his game, but as weeks turned into months I knew it was time to get serious. I started, like many other people, setting high expectations on him going into that week's tournament. With how well he played, I started to entertain the idea of how amazing it would be if he was to win again. As the season continued, his game only got better. His iron play was amazing and his putting had started to improve. I knew at some point in this season he is going to win again.
The summer arrived and with that so did major season. That time of year where you separate the good players from the contenders. Everyone starts holding golfers to a higher standard. It was no different for Tiger Woods either. There was a high level that I expected him to play at. In some of the events those events he played well and even contended, but in others, he did not play as well.
I had to start to remember that this is his first full season back in competitive golf and it is fine to have bad days. With how well he had been playing it was hard to think of him as anything other than the "old Tiger." The Tiger that seems to win or contend in almost all his tournament some years ago.
I will always remember the fourth Sunday in September when Tiger Woods won for the first time in 5 years. It was a comeback season of the ages. For the first time, we caught a glimpse of the "old Tiger". The Tiger Woods that has the ability to win any tournament that he is competing in. The confidence that fans had missed for 5 years had finally returned. It was the perfect end to a comeback season where he had the ability to win at least three tournaments, including a major. As soon as the season ended, I instantly had the thoughts of what can he do next season.
I can't wait to see what Tiger Woods does next season!
