Tiger Woods’ professional golf career has been a roller coaster ride between personal issues and his injuries. Ever since his first injury in 2002, he has been making serious comebacks that seem to impress the golf world. His most impressive comeback was in 2008, when he returned to the tour to win the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines golf course. His most recent comeback was attempted in 2016 after he experienced multiple back injuries. He withdrew from the tour for sixteen months, and returned to finish at the bottom in multiple tour events. Although his scores were not great, he appeared to have improved his mobility, swing path, and caught quite a bit of distance with his driver. In April of 2017, he had to undergo surgery to relieve pain in his lower back and leg. Therefore, after a summer full of personal issues and recuperation, what can be expected from Woods?

There is much speculation of whether Woods will ever make a “successful comeback.” During the early years of his career, Woods’ playing style was considered completely unorthodox to the traditional game. He was an athlete who took care of his health and worked to build up an incredible physique. At that time, most professional golfers did not focus on improving their athletic abilities, which made Woods stand out. He could achieve serious distance with his driver that most people have never seen before. He also created many different types of golf shots that had never been used in actual play before. His most famous shot was known as the “stinger.” When Woods performed this shot, the ball would start its journey by traveling close to the ground. It would then rise straight up in the air. His style of play was knew, and transformed the game of golf forever.

Although Woods’ strict health and workout regiments improved his overall game, it also is attributed to his career downfall of injuries. He generally wore his body out, and worked himself to the limit. On average, his workout regimen included a session of heavy cardio, high rep weight training, and some sort of static stretching or yoga. To prevent further injury, Woods is planning to decrease his overall workout regimen so he can remain healthy and perform on tour. There are still many unanswered questions about Wood’s future on tour, but he remains confident that he will be back and better than ever. In a press conference in September of 2016, Woods remained confident that he would be back, but later re-injured his back a few months later stating: “It could be a fun fall. It was difficult missing tournaments that are important to me, but this time I was smart about my recovery and didn’t rush it.” Even if Woods does not make another appearance on tour, his seventy-nine PGA tour wins including fourteen major tournament wins will maintain his reputation of revolutionizing the game of golf.