He hit a five wood on the par-5 15th and I guess he flew it about 256 yards in the air and it stopped one inch from the hole for a tap-in eagle.

“So people were just in awe to be able to see him play. He walked the course when he easily could’ve taken a cart if he wanted to.”

Faxon said:

Faxon, a former pro golfer himself on the PGA Tour, said that Woods was playing well, but he also mentioned something of note. He said that the 15-time major winner walked the course as he was playing as opposed to taking a cart.

This is significant because Woods is still on his way back from ankle surgery. He could hardly walk any course before that. After a six-month recovery period, he began playing again and is now apparently doing so well that he didn’t need a cart.

This is all in preparation for the PLAYERS Championship, likely Woods’ next appearance on tour. He has said in the past that he aims to play once a month and specifically noted the Genesis, at which he withdrew from illness, and the PLAYERS.

The PLAYERS Championship is in a little over a week, which would make for Woods’ one appearance in March. It also gives him about a month to recover and work towards his potential appearance at the Masters.

He also cited every major championship as part of his monthly appearance schedule. It hasn’t been a linear recovery for Tiger Woods. He had the surgery following a withdrawal at the Masters in 2023. Six months later, he began to practice and eventually played in the Hero World Challenge and the PNC Championship

Tiger Woods is aiming to play the PLAYERS

He was part of the field for the first time in nine months at the Genesis Invitational but had to withdraw after being ill. That was a disappointing turn of events after he’d worked to get back to that place. He admitted via the PGA Tour website that it hasn’t always been easy coming back, saying:

“Do I feel it physically? Yeah, absolutely. Each and every day. That’s part of having surgeries and rehab… How the body feels, and the process of preparing for an event, and the aging process, that’s been the trick and the challenge of it all.”

Woods is also 48 years old, which only adds to some level of difficulty in both managing the sport’s workload and his own health.

Nevertheless, he’s been able to get to this point and is aiming for full participation on March 14 when the PLAYERS tees off.