Tiger Woods decided that nine holes on Wednesday morning, rather than the 18 holes played by the rest of the field, would suffice for him at the pro-am portion at Albany Golf Club. Don’t put too much stock in it. His latest recovery isn’t hindered by another setback, though you never know with Tiger. To borrow a word from the pandemic, Woods is exercising extreme caution and “wants to save himself for the next four days,” said business manager Rob McNamara, who will serve as his caddie this week.

When asked if nine holes had always been the plan, McNamara said, as of this morning. Woods did create a “committee of one” that determined he would earn a tournament exemption into the 20-man field event that he has won five times in his career.

Woods’ swing appeared to be a little shorter during the pro-am, which may be a blessing in disguise for his game. He appears to be in good shape, and his walk appears to have improved from the last time we saw him putting in weekend rounds at Augusta. There’s still a stutter in his gait and a noticeable limp from the injuries he sustained in his lower right leg, ankle, and foot in a single-car incident in Los Angeles in February 2021.

Woods told reporters that his ankle pain has subsided since undergoing surgery for a right subtalar fusion in April. I’m not concerned at all about walking it, Woods said. It’s more, as I said, I don’t have any of the ankle pain that I had with the hardware that’s been placed in my foot, that’s all gone. The other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back. The forces go somewhere else, he added.

Nonetheless, a big part of the test this week will be to see him walk 72 holes – or 81 including the pro-am – and see if he can handle that kind of load on a flat course before considering starting the 2024 season at the Genesis Invitational in February and ramping up for the Masters in April. Woods claimed his game was still rusty, and there was at least one instance when it appeared to be the case. Woods drove into a transition area of sand and seashells on the ninth hole. But perhaps he was a little overly optimistic as he topped the shot no more than 50 yards.