If Tiger Woods is to be believed, many of the 14 majors he has won in his career was achieved with just one leg.
Now, with both legs to stand on, Woods believes he is stronger than ever. The world number one returns to competitive golf after eight months out at this week’s Accenture Match Play event – probably one of the sporting world’s most anticipated comebacks.
After winning the US Open in June, Woods underwent surgery on his knee ligaments, know as ACL. This is a major operation that many top athletes have undergone, few of whom return to action with 100 per cent of their previous abilities.
Woods, though, feels different, saying it is actually an addition to his armoury. A CNN report quoted him as saying:
“I feel a lot stronger in my left leg. Both legs have been stronger than they ever have been. Stability is something I haven’t had in years. So it’s nice to make a swing and not have my bones move. Since I had a lack of ACL for a number of years, no matter what I did, it was always moving. So I would try and hit into my left side, but the more I did it, the more it would move, hence one of the reasons why you saw me jumping off the ball. It’s nice to be able to hit into it for the first time.â€
Woods is the defending champion in this tournament in Arizona, and takes on Australian Brendan Jones in the first round.
His return to the limelight is like a US government stimulus package for a faltering economy, with golf likely to benefit more from Woods than anything Congress could approve.
Television executives are already licking their lips at what they expect to be a rise in golf viewership, which declined after Tiger started his break eight months ago.
NBC has said it would cover the weekend of the tournament, even though Woods has only reached the final rounds four times out of nine. Tommy Roy, golf producer at NBC, said his return is more than a mere golf story. He said in an AP report:
“This has gone from being a golf tournament to a news event. There’s a lot of people who aren’t going to be able to watch his play on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, if he makes it that far. There’s a definite buzz about golf and about this event that we know will carry over to the weekend.â€
:smile::lol: