By Sam Reeves

82-time PGA Tour and 15-time Major Winner, Tiger Woods, has announced his return to golf, again. He will be playing for the first time since The Open Championship in July where he missed the cut at St. Andrews. Woods announced his return on Twitter listing three events he will be playing in. Including the Hero World Challenge, of which he is the host.

Currently, Tiger Woods is caddying for his son, Charlie, at an event this week. The other events Tiger Woods will be playing in are another edition of “The Match” where he will team up with Rory McIlroy and compete against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. In what is now going to be the newest installment of “The Match”.

The new installment of “The Match” will have all proceeds going to victims of Hurricane Ian. It is going to take place at Pelican Golf Club in Florida, at 6 PM eastern. Yes, they are going to be playing night golf. So that’s pretty sweet. They are going to play a 12-hole match, with lights everywhere which is absolutely wild. This should be an interesting development for future events on the PGA Tour.

The final event on this most recent comeback slate is the PNC Championship which Tiger also competed in last year with his son, Charlie. They finished in second place behind John Daly’s I and II. With another year of competitive golf under Charlie Woods’ belt, all eyes will be on that tandem in December. Tiger Woods turns 47 later this year, which could signal that his competitive window on the PGA Tour is closing.

I am a huge fan of golf and Tiger Woods. This is huge for the game and for the fans to see him back, hopefully at full strength. In additional news, Tiger also won the PIP for the 2nd year in a row. PIP stands for Player Impact Program; it was instituted last year, and Tiger Woods won the initial award. How is PIP calculated? It is a combination of the below:

People have their reservations about Tiger Woods as a person, I get that. However, the man is a marvel in the sports world. Not only is he still trying to break the all-time wins record and the all-time major championship record, but he is also growing the game more than he ever had before. Tiger was at the forefront of the PGA/LIV Golf battle, meeting with the PGA to help figure out new ways to keep players from jumping ship. He has also started TMRW sports with his “The Match” playing partner, Rory McIlroy. With huge investors, this is going to be the future of virtual gaming for golf fans.

Tiger Woods also has his chain of miniature golf courses called “Popstroke Golf”. Which has expanded its locations in Florida over the last few months. The new entrepreneur side of Tiger Woods is very different than him just showing up in commercials. This means something to him, to leave the game better than he found it. Not only leaving a golf prodigy in his son to run the gambit but for kids everywhere to have a chance to play golf, no matter their background.

I like to call this era the “Fun Dad Era” for Tiger Woods. His whole life, from 3 years old, has been about being the greatest golfer ever. Now that he can just relax and be a dad, you see the change in him. It is not something you would’ve expected even 5 years ago. I still hope we get to see Mack Daddy Santa, just one more time.