The most encouraging Tiger Woods sign this week has nothing to do with his swing 

Their 5th effort astatine the PNC Championship was the closest Tiger and Charlie Woods person travel to taking the coveted Willie Park Trophy belts, but that wasn’t the astir encouraging point the elder Woods did this week had thing to do pinch that performance.

Ever since Woods made his first competitory (and we usage that word alternatively loosely) quality aft his February 2021 car clang astatine the PNC Championship, he’s taken advantage of the tournament’s position arsenic a PGA Tour Champions event, allowing him to usage a cart to get astir the play course.

Throughout his comeback, Woods has been adamant that his crippled and plaything are not what holds him backmost successful 72-hole events, but alternatively conscionable simply stepping 18 holes successful a day.

In the leadup to this week, Woods changed his tune, claiming it was the other arsenic he eschewed a cart, electively for the Pro-Am information connected Friday.

“Rusty. Very rusty,” Woods said, describing his crippled connected Friday. “I don’t person my feels. My trajectory is off. My shaping shots. This is simply a believe information and I’m not looking guardant to being acold [Saturday morning]. Hopefully, Charlie drives it good truthful I tin prime up and move on.”

He ended up stepping each 36 holes successful the title this week arsenic well. That’s not needfully a astonishing accomplishment arsenic Woods has walked 36 holes aliases much now 5 times this play — and nary 1 is comparing a level Ritz-Carlton Golf Club to Augusta National — but this is the first clip he has done it voluntarily. When he tees it up successful a awesome title of Genesis Invitational, he does not person the action to return a cart, nor would he for illustration to.

Woods was asked successful 2021, erstwhile he made his first post-accident quality astatine the PNC, if he would ever use to usage a cart connected the PGA Tour nether the Americans pinch Disabilities Act.

“Absolutely not,” he responded. “Not for a PGA Tour event, no. That’s conscionable not who I am. That’s not really I’ve ever been, and if I can’t play astatine that level, I can’t play astatine that level.”

But it’s a perk he took advantage of that week successful Orlando and has done truthful each of the adjacent 3 seasons, until this week.

It didn’t look to harm his crippled either arsenic he and Charlie “ham-and-egged it” successful the scramble format to a tourney record-tying 28 nether for the 36-holes. While Charlie’s ace Sunday was by acold the champion changeable the squad deed each week, Tiger Woods had plentifulness of his signature elite robust play to show disconnected for illustration his flight from the trees connected the first Sunday.

Woods moreover dazzled pinch a melodramatic driver-off-the-deck play connected the par-5 14th that clocked 173 mph shot speed, landed and held the green, giving the squad an eagle look.

After he and Charlie eventually fell to Bernhard and Jason Langer successful a playoff, he again downplayed his game.

“I’m obscurity adjacent competitory shape,” Woods told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. “I’m a awesome scramble partner. We made a awesome squad this week and that’s the full joyousness of it.”

Woods has astir 2 months earlier his adjacent imaginable commencement astatine the Genesis Invitational and only clip will show whether he will judge his crippled is fresh for that. But it seems he mightiness beryllium up for the stroll.