American golf icon, Tiger Woods, says he is pleasantly surprised to be back to the golf course after over seven months out of the game due to an injury

Recall that Woods’ post-traumatic arthritis required fusion surgery on an ankle bone after the 2021 car accident, keeping him out of the game for almost 14 months.

When he returned to the game earlier this year, he developed a back injury in April 2023 after claiming that he had “zero issues” with his ankle.

Woods intends to make his schedule for the upcoming season based on the major events in the competition’s calendar as he aims to participate in one tournament per month in 2024.

The 15-time major champion hasn’t competed since withdrawing from the Masters in April due to his back pain issue.

Woods began the competition with two bogeys, but on Saturday he birdied the third, sixth, eighth, and ninth holes—where he triumphantly emerged from a greenside bunker.

At the eighteenth hole, he missed a seven-foot par putt, leaving him with two bogeys and one birdie on the back nine.

After the not-too-exciting performance, the 47-year-old American golf icon said: “I’m very pleasantly surprised at how I’ve recovered every day.

“I still have the game; it’s whether the body can do it or not.”