The well-known golfer Tiger Woods is returning to professional golf.  After being on hiatus for a year due to suffering several back injuries, Woods is set to return to professional golf in October at the Safeway Open.  Hopefully this will lead to Woods continuing to play for the rest of the 2016-2017 season.
Prior to Tiger Woods’ injuries, he was the best golfer in the world and in the running for the best ever. His stardom began when he won his first Masters in April 1997 and two months after he was named the number one golfer in the world. His astounding career continued as he won six consecutive tournaments in 2000, setting a new record, and shortly afterward, achieving a career grand slam (winning all four majors in a calendar year).
Since then he has won two more career grand slams, and been named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year more than once. Although recently Woods has not been playing up to par. From 2013 to 2015 he has only won five tournaments resulting in an all-time career low. Woods has been recovering and opted not to play in the Masters because he needed to rest up for the upcoming season.
Playing professional golf is difficult to begin with without the added stress of living up to your previous reputation, and Tiger Woods has a spectacular résumé. “Golf is a mental game, and you can’t let it go to your head,” says Maya Ghosh, captain of the Wilcox golf team. Assistant General Manager of the Santa Clara golf course Jef West says, “These guys and gals on the professional tour are obviously very talented, but they also work very hard. You have to be mentally and physically strong in this sport.” This means that Woods must not only be physically ready, but also mentally ready to handle pro golf again.
To be clear, no one expects Woods to be back at number one after his first tournament back. In fact Jason Day, the current number one golfer in the world, said in an interview with the PGA, “I think the hardest thing for him is just to try and get the rust out…I don’t expect too much from him even though he is Tiger Woods…because he’s been out.”
Playing professional golf is no easy feat. It takes dedication, ample amounts of time, and as anyone who plays golf will say, it requires sacrifices. Mr. West, determines that, “Just like any other sport, you need to be 100% dedicated to your craft, and be willing to do things others are not.” West played golf throughout high school and went on to play in the Golf Academy of America for two years until he stopped to focus on studies.
West says, “to play golf professionally, practice needs to be treated as a full time job. Six hours a day, six days a week is how you will get better.” According to Golf Digest, Woods has been practicing for five hours a day since mid-April at his home course Medalist Golf Course.
Finally, golfer Rory Mcilroy remarks, “I think he’s learned from previous years that you have to really take time to let things heal and really be a hundred percent before getting back out here.” PGA also interviewed pro golfer Bubba Watson on the topic and he said, “He is still young in terms of what other legends and great players have done. Firstly, it’s just great that he’s healthy and then it’s awesome he can play.”
On September 25th, the world lost the respected golf “king,” Arnold Palmer. Like Woods, he had an impressive number of wins, but he was more well known for his spirit and enthusiasm. Throughout his career he coined his own half iced tea, half lemonade drink, and acquired a military fan base entitled Arnie’s Army. In the wake of his passing Woods said, “Thanks Arnold for your friendship, counsel and a lot of laughs. Your philanthropy and humility are part of your legend.” Now the world looks on to see if Tiger Woods can overcome his injuries, work hard and regain his former glory.