We don’t even know yet when Tiger Woods will make his 2017 debut, but Woods’ Stanford roommate and good friend Notah Begay III believes Woods will hoist at least one trophy in the new year.
Begay, who is also a Golf Channel and NBC commentator, has a rosy view of the 41-year-old’s coming season.
“I expect him to win, and I expect him to have at least one win next year based upon what I’ve seen,” said Begay, according to Reuters. “It’s just a matter of getting some more tournament rounds. I’m not going to say it’s going to happen early in the year but I think you should expect to see Tiger peak during the spring time.”
Peak during the spring? Like in April? In Augusta? That’s going way too far.
It’s also a little premature to suggest Woods is going to be a winner. Though he did log a tournament-leading 24 birdies in his competitive return at the Hero World Challenge in early December, Woods still finished 15th out of 17 players to complete the 72-hole Bahamas event. He may well have also been the lone player in the field grinding out most shots until payday Sunday, when Hideki Matsuyama won for the fourth time in his final five worldwide starts of the year.
However, there’s certainly reason for some optimism. Woods showed no signs of back trouble, a great sign after 16 months away from the game to recover from two back surgeries in 2015. Woods played aggressive golf, hitting the ball with perhaps his smoothest swing in a decade.
“I don’t think anybody in the inner circle, including Tiger, could have been happier,” Begay said.
He added, “For him to go out and make more birdies than anybody else in the field after being on the shelf for 15 months was quite remarkable. He’s seeing some definite returns on the time that he’s put in with regard to his recovery.”
Woods has committed to play in the Genesis Open (nee Northern Trust Open), which is now run by his tournament-management company, from Feb. 16-19. However, Woods is expected to commit to at least one, if not two, tournaments before then.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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