Tiger Woods returned to the big stage in December at the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour calendar but a massive one for the sport. No one, including Woods himself, quite knew what to expect. He had not played since the previous February. He was just seven months removed from back fusion surgery, the fourth procedure he'd undergone on his back since 2014, and just over six months since he was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence near his home in Jupiter, Florida. He was 1,199th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
A little less than two months after the Hero World Challenge, he teed it up at the Farmers Insurance Open for his official start on the Tour. The comeback was on. This one hasn't ended quickly, and it has been marked by growing expectations.
Here is a breakdown of his results from this past season so far:
This week
Tour Championship
Dates: Sept. 20-23
Site: East Lake Golf Course
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 21
Odds to win the event: 4-7
Round 1: 65
Round 2: 68
Round 3: 65
Round 4: 71
Finish: Winner
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 13
Tiger's takeaway: "80 is a big number. I've been sitting on 79 [wins] for about five years now; to get 80 is a damn good feeling."
Earlier this season ...
BMW Championship
Dates: Sept. 6-10
Site: Aronimink Golf Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 26
Odds to win the event: 22-1
Round 1: 62
Round 2: 70
Round 3: 66
Round 4: 65
Finish: T-6
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 21
Tiger's takeaway: "To have a chance to win again this year, it's a very positive feeling. Had I made a few more putts this week could have been a different deal coming down the stretch, though I finished at 17 under and good looks on two of the last few holes. That's a positive."
Dell Technologies Championship
Dates: Aug. 31-Sept. 3
Site: TPC Boston
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 26
Odds to win the event: 20-1
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 66
Round 3: 68
Round 4: 71
Finish: T-24
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 26
Tiger's takeaway: "I think in general here in the last probably month and a half I've really turned the corner. I've really hit some good shot sand I've really played well from tee to green. And it's just a matter of getting one little hot stretch with the putter and get it rolling and get the momentum on my side and just get things rolling."
The Northern Trust
Dates: Aug. 23-26
Site: Ridgewood Country Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 26
Odds to win the event: 14-1
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 68
Round 4: 70
Finish: T-40
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 26
Tiger's takeaway: "You have good weeks and you have bad weeks. The greens, sometimes they look good to you. Sometimes they don't. All of my good putts, basically, went in at Bellerive [two weeks ago at the PGA Championship] and the bad putts lipped out. This week, the good putts lipped out and the bad ones didn't have a chance. That's the way it goes."
The PGA Championship
Dates: Aug. 9-12
Site: Bellerive Country Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 26
Odds to win the event: 25-1
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 66
Round 3: 66
Round 4: 64
Finish: 2nd overall
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 51
Tiger's takeaway: "So, at the beginning of the year, if you would say, 'Yeah, I would have a legit chance to win the last two major championships,' I -- with what swing? I didn't have a swing at the time. I had no speed. I didn't have a golf swing. I didn't have -- my short game wasn't quite there yet. My putting was OK. But God, I hadn't played in two years. So it's been a hell of a process, for sure."
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Dates: Aug. 2-5
Site: Firestone Country Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 50
Odds to win the event: 12-1
Round 1: 66
Round 2: 68
Round 3: 73
Round 4: 73
Finish: T-31
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 51
Tiger's takeaway: "I didn't hit as many balls as I normally would going into an event, but I needed a break. I pushed it hard through The Open and needed a break because this stretch coming up here is going to be a big stretch starting [at the PGA] and through the playoffs."
The Open
Date: July 19-22
Site: Carnoustie Golf Links
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 71
Odds to win the event: 25-1
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 66
Round 4: 71
Finish: T-6
Official World Golf Ranking after the event: 50
Tiger's takeaway: "A little ticked off at myself for sure. I had a chance starting that back nine to do something, and I didn't do it. ... I was saying earlier that I need to try and keep it in perspective because, the beginning of the year, if they'd have said you're playing The Open Championship, I would have said I'd be very lucky to do that."
Quicken Loans National
Date: June 28-July 1
Site: TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 79
Odds to win the event: 12-1
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 65
Round 3: 68
Round 4: 66
Finish: T-4
Tiger's takeaway: "Oh, it was frustrating because I played better than what my score indicates ... I just didn't finish it off the right way."
U.S. Open
Date: June 14-17
Site: Shinnecock Hills
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 80
Odds to win the event: 16-1
Round 1: 78
Round 2: 72
Finish: Missed cut
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 79
Tiger's takeaway: "I'm not very happy the way I played and the way I putted. I'm 10 over par. So I don't know that you can be too happy and too excited about 10 over par."
The Memorial
Date: May 31-June 3
Site: Muirfield Village
Official World Golf Ranking entering the event: 83
Odds to win the event: 20-1
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 67
Round 3: 68
Round 4: 72
Finish: T-23
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 80
Tiger's takeaway "If I just putt normally, I probably would be right up there with those guys and up there in the last couple of groups. Overall, if I just keep building on this, with how I'm hitting it right now, I'm in good shape for two weeks from now [at the U.S. Open].
The Players Championship
Date: May 10-13
Site: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 92
Odds to win the event: 30-1
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 65
Round 4: 69
Finish: T-11
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 80
Tiger's takeaway: "I got my playing feels back and it's just a matter of playing and executing and putting the shots together."
Wells Fargo Championship
Date: May 3-6
Site: Quail Hollow Golf Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 93
Odds to win the event: 25-1
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 73
Round 3: 68
Round 4: 74
Finish: T-55
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 92
Tiger's takeaway: "Again, I just did not putt well. I did not make a birdie [on Sunday]. I got shut out. ... I just didn't hit good putts. And on top of that, the ones I did hit well, they didn't have enough speed on them. It was just one of those weeks."
The Masters
Date: April 5-8
Site: Augusta National Golf Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 103
Odds to win the event: 12-1
Round 1: 73
Round 2: 75
Round 3: 72
Round 4: 69
Finish: T-32
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 88
Tiger's takeaway "It's disappointing that I didn't hit the ball well enough. But to be able to just be out here competing again, if you had said that last year at this particular time, I would have said you're crazy. I had a hard time just sitting or walking. So now to be able to play and compete and hit the ball the way I did, that's quite a big change from last year."
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Date: March 15-18
Site: Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 149
Odds to win the event: 13-2
Round 1: 68
Round 2: 72
Round 3: 69
Round 4: 69
Finish: T-5
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 105
Tiger's takeaway: "If I can play with no pain and I can feel like I can make golf swings, I'll figure it out. I'm starting to piece it together tournament by tournament, and each tournament's gotten a little crisper and a little bit better."
Valspar Championship
Date: March 8-11
Site: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 388
Odds to win the event: 25-1
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 68
Round 3: 67
Round 4: 70
Finish: T-2
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 149
Tiger's takeaway: "I was close. I had a chance [to win]. Unfortunately I just didn't quite feel as sharp as I needed to with my irons, played a little conservative because of it."
Honda Classic
Date: Feb. 22-25
Site: PGA National (Champion)
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 544
Odds to win the event: 60-1
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 69
Round 4: 70
Finish: 12
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 389
Tiger's takeaway: "I feel like each time out I've gotten better, and I've gotten more of a feel for playing tournament golf. The last couple days, it felt easy to play tournament golf. The warmup felt good. I get into the flow of the round. I could find the rhythm of the rounds faster. The more golf I'm playing tournament-wise, the faster I'm able to click into the feel of the round."
Genesis Open
Date: Feb. 15-18
Site: Riviera Country Club
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 550
Odds to win the event: 40-1
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 76
Finish: Missed cut
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 544
Tiger's takeaway: "I didn't really play that well. I missed every tee shot left, and I did not putt well, didn't feel very good on the greens, and consequently never made a run. I knew I had to make a run on that back nine, and I went the other way."
Farmers Insurance Open
Date: Jan. 25-28
Site: Torrey Pines Golf Course (South)
Official World Golf Ranking entering the tournament: 647
Odds to win the event: 25-1
Scores
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 70
Round 4: 72
Finish: T-23
Official World Golf Ranking after the tournament: 539
Tiger's takeaway: "I can feel some of the things I'm doing wrong in my swing, so we're going to go back to work. It's nice to have two weeks off, but it's more important that I got this tournament under my belt where I can feel some of the things I need to work on, because hometown speed versus game speed is two totally different things. As much as we try to simulate it at home, it's never the same."