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Tiger Woods' return to competitive golf raised a lot of questions, more for his physical fitness than for the result he could obtain. The legendary player looked fine but still far from his best.
Following the fourth and decisive round of the 2023 Hero World Challenge, Woods addressed the press, where he assessed his overall performance in the tournament. The 47-year-old was pleased as he said he could reach the physical shape that will allow him to face the 2024 season successfully.
Here is what Tiger Woods said (via Ten Golf):
"I think that I can get into the rhythm of it. I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there's no reason why I can't get into that rhythm. It's just a matter of getting in better shape basically. I feel like my game's not that far off, but I need to get in better shape."
Tiger Woods also felt that his game improved as the tournament progressed.
"Every day I get faster into the round. The first day took me a while to get a handle on it. Second day was faster, today [Sunday, December 3] was right away. When I play on a regular basis, thats normally how it is," he added.
A look at Tiger Woods' performance at the 2023 Hero World Challenge
The most interesting thing about Tiger Woods' performance during the 2023 Hero World Challenge was to see if his recovery had come to fruition. Woods finished the 72 holes with a good pace and without his game dropping off abruptly at any point.
However, a few things concerned fans. Woods was seen wearing a leg sleeve on his right knee, and also rubbing that spot in the middle of the round. These are normal ailments for someone with his injuries. It remains to be seen if they will prevent him from joining the regular PGA Tour season.
From the sporting point of view, Woods finished in 18th place, with a score of even par. His performance included 19 birdies, 15 bogeys, and two double bogeys.
Woods' main problems came in the second half of each round. However, as the tournament progressed, his play on the front nine and back nine became more balanced.
Woods had several actions, demonstrating that his quality is still sky-high. He had the longest drive of 370 yards (7th in the tournament) and an average driving distance of 304.90 yards (8th).
However, he was not very tight, hitting only 34 of 52 fairways (65.38%). His putting was not good either, his total putts were 29, second to last in the event. He did, though, make some impressive putts, such as a 48-footer during the first round.
