Tiger Woods is finally back since his car accident last February. He’s not playing at the PGA Tour, but he is back in public at the Hero World Challenge. 

“Making progress,” he wrote to accompany a video of his swing he posted on Twitter.

There was a time when no one knew if Tiger would be able to walk again, let alone gear up for a pro golf event. Woods even mentioned the possibility of amputation of his left leg in the early stages of his hospitalization.

Lots of chatter is aimed at the Masters in April, without consideration that the Augusta National course may be one of the toughest courses to walk of any tournament played. Woods claimed that he would love to return to the British Open at St. Andrews, where the steepest climb is crossing the Swilcan Bridge but is still not sure if he will be able to. 

Woods has already ruled out being a full-time player, and an argument can be made that he was already heading in that direction. He’s walking and swinging again, not at full steam, with lots of recovery left to go.

He played only 13 events at the PGA Tour in 2019 the last time he was healthy and prior to the pandemic. 

Would limiting his tournaments to only a few each year still be enough to satisfy his fans? The answer is yes, almost definitely. There is a slow road back to full recovery for Tiger, but something is better than nothing.