Tiger Woods had Jon Rahm for company in the final round of the Masters, and his Spanish playing partner senses the American golfing great is bang on track to be a major contender again.
The playing partners had contrasting fortunes on Sunday, with Rahm signing off with a classy 69 and Woods labouring to a weary 78.
But it was to be expected that Woods would flag this weekend, having amazed the golfing world by making the cut in his first PGA Tour event since November 2020. An opening 71 had been a staggering achievement.
After back surgery, and the shocking car crash in February 2021 which Woods has admitted he was lucky to survive, it was a wonder that he played Augusta at all this year.
He was bedridden for a good while after the crash in California in which he sustained major leg and foot injuries, and the undulating course that stages the Masters, a tournament that Woods has won five times, was hardly tailor-made to allow the 46-year-old a soft landing back in the professional game.
World number two Rahm had a view at close quarters of the returning Woods, and said: "It's really cool. It was great because nobody cared about me, so I was just watching him play. I was able to enjoy today as a fan and as a player.
"You can just tell that his leg is just not quite up there yet. I've seen him in the truck. He is limping in the truck. He is limping on the course. Obviously, he is trying very hard to play, but it's not easy to walk up and down those hills. At the end you can just tell that his leg and his body are just not used to walking this much, right?
"I believe if at home he can walk and get strength up and stamina in that sense, he will be able to be competitive again.
"This is the hardest walk all year. He will be able to go somewhere where it's a little easier to walk. It won't be as long, and I believe he'll be able to contend."
Rahm said "the Tiger effect" can be seen on the PGA Tour, where he faces competition from a generation that grew up watching and admiring Woods; he namechecked the likes of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, new Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith.
Rahm also said Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau were among the same peer group that has taken the game by the scruff of the neck, and he believes the intense competition may mean there is no one standout player who wins a great glut of majors.
Woods has 15 to his name, but such a staggering haul seems out of range for the players who have followed in his wake.
"All of us are close in age, and we all – Dustin being a little bit older – we're all within five years, and we all grew up watching Tiger. We all grew up wanting to be him, and we all grew up with the dream of being major champions," Rahm said.
"With the advancement in golf, in all of us thinking of ourselves as athletes, you can see the difference. Everybody can reach a new level.
"It's really hard to stay up there for a long time. Some players have been able to do it, but it's just the next guy comes up, gets hot, and there you go. It's a beautiful part of the golden age of golf we're living in right now.
"Hopefully it's me, but you might not get the one guy that's going to dominate for a long time, but you're going to get five, six, maybe 10 players that can do their part. Anybody gets hot for three, four months, and you can see what happens."
Woods said he felt "thankful" that he was able to last the distance.
"Just to be able to play, and not only just to play, but I put up a good first round," Woods said. "I got myself there. I don't quite have the endurance that I would like to have had, but as of a few weeks ago, didn't even know if I was going to play in this event.
"To go from that to here, we're excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven't been able to do because it needed more time to heal. I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we'll get back after it, and we'll get into it."
'The game is testing me' – More agony for McIlroy as Horschel wins BMW PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy admitted golf is "testing" him more than usual after enduring yet another near miss at the BMW PGA Championship, losing to Billy Horschel in a play-off.
McIlroy, Horschel and Thriston Lawrence were forced into a three-way play-off after they all finished 20-under through four rounds at Wentworth.
Lawrence carded a final round of 65 to close a two-shot gap to McIlroy and Horschel, but the South African bogeyed the first play-off hole to put himself out of contention.
Horschel then wrapped up his second triumph at Wentworth with an eagle on the second, having previously triumphed at the event in 2021.
McIlroy has endured a frustrating year, missing two close-range putts when in pole position to win the US Open in June, then slipping again on the final round to finish second at last week's Irish Open.
Speaking after Sunday's play-off, the Northern Irishman said: "Last week was a tough one but I left there with my head held high with the way I played the last hole, trying to make three.
"Two weeks in a row I've played well. Just not quite well enough. The game is testing me a little more than it has done in the past, but that's fine.
"It could have been a different year but the nice thing is there's next year and the year after and the year after and the year after.
"If you think of my career as a 30-year journey, it's only one year in a 30-year journey, and hopefully the other 29 are a little more productive or a little bit better."
Horschel, meanwhile, admitted the struggles of the four-time major winner, a close friend of his, put a slight dampener on his victory.
"I'm thrilled and excited for the way I played," Horschel said.
"At the same time I'm a little disappointed – Rory is a great friend of mine and he's a generational talent. I know how close he's been this year so I feel for him.
"I needed a bit of luck. There was a lot of luck on my side to get this victory today."
McIlroy pleased with 'solid' round as he chases Manassero at Wentworth
Rory McIlroy was pleased with a 'solid' bogey-free round of 66 as he sits joint-second on 15 under par, three shots off leader Matteo Manassero, ahead of the final day of the BMW PGA Championship.
McIlroy carded a six-under round with four birdies and one eagle on the fourth, only bettered by leader Manassero's 63 and Billy Horschel's 65, which included a run of seven straight birdies and put him in a tie for second alongside the Northern Irishman.
The 35-year-old, who won the event in 2014, was happy enough with his third round, despite finding the water on 18 and scrambling a par on the scoreable final hole.
He said to Sky Sports: "I had a few chances that I let slip there on the back nine, but I got going out there on moving day, shooting six under par, trying to keep up with Matteo.
"It was another solid day, my lowest score of the week and no bogeys. I know I'm going to need another low one tomorrow to try to catch him.
"I love it here. It would be amazing to get my name on the trophy again."
Manassero, who also tasted success at Wentworth in 2013, was delighted with his round, coming towards the end of a season in which he has returned from the wilderness to play some of his very best golf.
"I have to be honest, one of the best rounds I've ever played," the Italian said afterwards.
"Thinking of the difficult years, to be standing here right now in the lead - it feels amazing."
"My perspective has changed. I'm going to go out and enjoy tomorrow."
Spieth expecting to be tournament ready for 2025 PGA season
Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month.
Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course.
The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open
But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters.
Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action.
"I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.
"And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."
Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.
The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.
While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife.
"I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.
"Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.
"And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."
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