Tiger Woods is doing just fine. Regardless of what you, and perhaps the entire golf world, thought. Contrary to popular expectation, the 48-year-old’s name wasn’t in the Hero World Challenge field. Woods went through his sixth back surgery a few months back. The HWC snub also put to question his status for the PNC Championship, the annual ‘fifth major’ (his words, not ours), where he pairs up with his teenage son, Charlie.

Amid all this, Tony Finau pulled out of the Hero World Challenge. Sepp Straka replaced him as rumors of a potential defection to LIV Golf swirled around Finau. Last year, Jon Rahm withdrew from TGL, and barely a month passed before he posed with Greg Norman. Reportedly, Finau is on a similar trajectory as well after accepting Woods’s invitation to the Bahamas event and then rejecting it. Of course, TGL itself is coming up as well.

Well, even if all these bog down Tiger Woods, his chiseled jaw and sharp smile won’t give it away. The 15-time major winner was part of TaylorMade’s shoot with Fore Play Podcast. The Hall of Famer appeared in a jovial mood as the first few snippets showed. He was driving a cart, and from Fore Play members’ laughs, it seemed Woods was back in his usual electrifying self. And sense of humor. Check out the first picture below.

Notably, even though the 82-time PGA Tour winner won’t swing a club at his Albany resort, he would be a luminous presence there. Tiger Woods will hold a press conference on Tuesday. Expect him to talk about TGL and his aching back. It is also very likely that the tournament host, the former world no. 1, will keep up with the tradition of presenting the trophy to the champion himself. All these and more have given TW fans reasons to be cheerful.

Tiger Woods is in go mode for the PNC Championship, fans believe

For Tiger Woods fans, 2024 has gone the way they thought it would go. From the Bahamas last year, Woods revealed that he would tee off once a month. That hasn’t really happened due to his aching back. The 48-year-old pulled out from the Genesis Invitational earlier this year because of flu. Then at the Masters, the five-time champion carded his worst round. Woods also failed to book a weekend spot in the other three majors, ending his year unceremoniously at Royal Troon.

But here is what most of his fans think. More than his performance inside the ropes, they are relieved that their favorite icon is doing well. Physically and mentally. “Looks happy and healthy, which really is all that matters,” commented one user. Whereas another one wrote, “Love seeing Tiger smile like that. That isn’t fake.” Others are more hopeful of watching Woods swing a club one last time in 2024, at the PNC Championship. For the record, there is no Team Woods in the PNC Championship field. But that was never going to be enough to stop the speculation, right? “Looks ready for the PNC to me, baby!!!!,” one user wrote.

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In the photoshoot, other than Woods, the two current world No. 1s were also there. Nelly

Korda and Scottie Scheffler. But if you notice, none of them drove the cart. But Woods came and took the wheel. It didn’t take long for some eagle-eyed fans to spot that and flesh out the difference. “Love how Tiger was the only one to alpha you guys but driving the cart lol,” one of them joked. Another commented, “Tiger says… I’m the driver of this cart.“

Of course, he is one of the most decorated athletes of the 21st century. But it is generally accepted that if Woods is in a room, he makes his presence felt. In Rory McIlroy‘s words, “I think it’s pretty apparent that whenever we all get in the room, there’s an alpha in there, and it’s not me.” Interestingly, in a similar outing last year, Tiger Woods outdrove the Fore Play team. Which isn’t all that surprising unless you know that Woods was sitting knee-down while hitting the drive. This year’s content is anyone’s guess. But here is what’s apparent: Tiger Woods is relatively stress-free.