Tiger Woods calls comeback 2018 season “one of my best years.”

Tiger Woods is still as competitive as ever, but in a remarkable comeback season in 2018, he’s redefined that term a bit. All things considered, it’s easy to see why he believes this year has been one of the best in his storied career.

No majors, no victories, and yet Tiger Woods looks back on this season as one of the best ones ever. The reason is that he’s able to play golf at a high level, and he’s shown himself that he can compete for titles.

"“I would have taken this in a heartbeat,” Woods said to media at the Dell Technologies Championship. “You have a chance to win two major championships, you’ll be in the playoffs, and you’re right there to be on the Ryder Cup team. All of these things at the beginning of the year were all unknowns.”"

Many PGA Tour players would be more than happy with the season Woods has had in 2018. From his initial start at the Farmer’s Insurance Open, where he finished 23^rd, to the recent PGA Championship where he was second, Woods has shown all golf fans he still has determination and grit. He’s fought through a balky putter, and he has not yet learned to tame his driver, but there’s no doubt at this juncture that his competitive fire still burns. Yes, he wants to win majors, but mainly he wants to compete and win.

"“This has been one of my best years, considering that I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he explained. “The fact that I’ve been able to make it this far is very exciting to me. I have a bright future ahead of me because at this point last year that wasn’t the case, didn’t know. But now I know that I sort of have a bright future.”"

Last fall, he was having trouble walking. He was uncertain what his future would hold. He was more worried about quality of life than quality of golf. Now things have turned around.

“I didn’t have any inkling of what this year might be. Normally, if I have a good off-season or a good practice or feel healthy I can reasonably expect what might happen the following year,” he explained.

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"“This year was a complete unknown. I didn’t know if I was going to play. I didn’t know how many events I was going to play. What swing I was going to use. I didn’t know any of these things.”"

As the season draws to a close, the tension mounts. A few players, like Rory McIlroy took last week off, but Woods continued to play even though he’s had a long season.

“I thought I played well last week. I fell in ( FedEx Cup) places,” he noted. “So, some of the guys who skipped last week, it might have been a smart move.” He was 20th before the Northern Trust and 25th after it.

Woods still has three chances to get to the winner’s circle this season, at the Dell, at the BMW and at the Tour Championship.

"“The thing is for me it’s just to keep getting there in the mix, keep getting there on the back nine with a chance to win,” he added. “I responded well at Valspar. I made a mistake there at Bay Hill and The PLAYERS, even at The Open Championship. But learn from those and really did well at the PGA.”"

Each time he adjusted to the next challenge, changing his swing, changing his clubs, taking ice baths, whatever it took to be able to improve his performance.

“I’m not going to win them all,” he admitted. “In order to win them you’ve got to be there. And I’ve been there enough this year and obviously want more of it.”

All the top golfers have played full throttle since the British Open in mid-July, and it is nearly the end of August. Having Ryder Cup at the end of it all, means that the pressure to perform continues through the end of September.

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At this point in the season all top golfers are looking for a few days off, and Woods is no exception. Fortunately, there is a week off before the Tour Championship.

After the Ryder Cup, whether Woods is there as a player or a vice-captain, he will stop for 2018 and spend the rest of the year getting some much-needed rest. Then he will start to get ready for his showdown with Phil Mickelson in Las Vegas and for the 2019 season.

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