For tiger fans all over the world, 504 days of hard hope have finally waited for you!
At 3:20 a.m. Beijing time today, Tiger Woods appeared at augusta national golf club, warmed up at the driving range, and played a 9-hole practice round – the first time since the final round of the Masters on November 15, 2020, that he had swung a ball in this sacred place under public scrutiny.
All indications are that he is preparing for the 86th Masters, the first Grand Slam of the year, which opened on Thursday!
A few hours before that, at 21:40 Beijing time last night, Tiger Woods finally updated his Twitter, "officially announcing" the news of the trip to Augusta:
I will be going to Augusta today to continue preparing and practicing. Whether I will participate in the race will be a "game week" decision. Congratulations to 16-year-old Anna Davis (Augusta Women's Amateur Champion) on her amazing victory and good luck to all the kids who participated in the Kick-Off Cut Putter Race.
This also temporarily suspended a series of speculations in the previous media. Woods' official statement stated that he would not make the final decision until Augusta practiced before the game.
Since the Masters is an "invitational tournament", any player invited to participate will have their names on the roster as long as they "do not voluntarily give up their qualifications" (such as this year's former champions Ian Woosnan and Phil Mickelson). Moreover, there is no "alternate list" in the Masters, and any player's withdrawal from the tournament will not affect the qualifications of others. That means, in theory, the Tigers could wait until the moment before kick-off on Thursday before announcing their retirement.
Woods and Hoshel hugged each other like a long goodbye reunion
However, judging from this morning's swing, he is in pretty good shape! Unlike last Tuesday, when Mystery flew to Augusta for a "private practice", this time the Tigers practiced in full view of the public, with many players and staff "watching" - former Confederate Cup champion Billy Hoshel was one of the lucky witnesses. On the practice field, he stood next to the tiger and hugged the tiger intimately and had a brief exchange.
According to Hoshel later revealed to the media, the Tiger's current tee flight distance can reach at least 290 yards!
Tiger swings augusta
"He looks like the tiger before the accident, there's no difference between swing and speed." Hoshel said, "As for whether he has any hope of coming back to play — I think he can — I think we're all happy about that." ”
It is reported that the tiger first stayed in Augusta's driving range for 20 minutes, and carried out a series of "warm-ups" from digging up poles to no. 1 wood. He then came off the 10th hole and "tested" Augusta's back nine holes – the familiar Amen Corner, once again appearing in the figure of the 5th Green Jacket winner!
Tiger walks into Amen Point
According to a live worker, tigers on the 12th hole – two years ago in the final round, he exploded the famous "hole over the water" of +7 par 10 – a perfect swing that parked the ball directly 4 feet next to the flagpole!
The distance of the no. 1 wood, the precise short bar, the same pace as ever... If we put the information together, we can only use the word "amazing" to describe tiger Woods' recovery status – people can't see it at all, this is a 46-year-old middle-aged man who was in a serious car accident and nearly amputated one leg 13 months ago!
Tiger's sponsors have been given ample exposure
Of course, It's not just the global tiger fans, tiger sponsors, but also through this high-profile appearance to get a long-lost massive exposure - Woods swinging the Taylemy shadow club, playing one After another Bridgestone ball, caddie Lacava carrying the ball on the bag of the huge claw LOGO, and the rather eye-catching black FootJoy sneakers on the driving range... Just a day earlier, digital souvenir company Autograph announced plans for Tiger Woods to release its first NFT series before the Masters – if from a marketing perspective, Tiger's debut this time in the line of fire will also earn a lot of traffic.
The Masters official also released the news of the tiger's return to Augusta at the first time. "Tiger Woods returned to Augusta today to prepare for his 24th Trip to the Masters." ——The statement of the official Twitter of the Masters seems to be further "sitting on" the possibility of tiger comeback.
Woods and caddie La Cava assay Augusta
During the Augusta Women's Amateur Championship held last Saturday, some sharp-eyed fans also found that the name "TIGER WOODS" appeared on the live scoreboard that the Masters were building! All indications are that Augusta seems to be ready for Woods to compete.
Of course, just one test session does not mean that Tigers will come back 100% of the time. Whether his knees can withstand the tough test of Augusta's undulating fairways is also a big unknown. After all, the last time Tigers played on the PGA Tour, it was back 15 months before the Masters finals...
The Tiger King returned to the Holy Land
However, this appearance is enough to surprise the world of golf. At least we have reason to fully expect that the return of tiger Woods' king is not far off!
At 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday (23:00 p.m. Beijing time), Tiger Woods will hold a regular press conference before the Masters. At that time, what "big news" will he announce through the media? Let's wait and see.
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