sport once again in the manner he did 13 years ago. Woods is also now 37 and, while an athlete of impressive physical shape, his body has taken its fair share of batterings since his early 20s.
Nonetheless, and with Augusta firmly on the horizon, there is a genuine case for saying Woods is currently and once again the finest golfer in the world. Four weeks short of his return to a venue he so adores, Woods has rightly been installed as the favourite for the season's first major. And a pretty short-priced one at that.
Over the past four years, Woods has displayed only flashes of his brilliant best. His game has been undermined by destructive shots, whether when attempting to hit a fade or simply on account of the latest reconstruction of his swing.
Despite the personal chaos which brought Woods into such disrepute, his on-course shortcomings have been the ones to perturb golfing enthusiasts. Whether openly admitting it or not, they want to see the swashbuckling, flawless Woods again. Golf, moreover, clearly benefits from a strong Tiger.
Statistics now endorse his new-found Masters status. In winning the WGC Cadillac Championship on Sunday, his 76th professional victory, Woods took 100 putts over four rounds; the lowest of his PGA Tour career. He made 27 birdies, one short of his career-high total, and won for the fifth time in 50 weeks. Woods has claimed two of those events in the early weeks of 2013, with his 18-hole scoring average now the best on the PGA Tour. Woods is placing short irons an average of 6ft closer to the pin than he was two years ago.
Woods' driving remains erratic, with his fairway-hitting accuracy shown at just 56%. But, crucially, the remainder of the world No2's game has recovered to the extent that such wayward play isn't necessarily damaging.
His putting seems to have been boosted by a 45-minute "lesson" from fellow competitor Steve Stricker at Doral on Wednesday. Stricker may have confirmed his status as one of the nicest men in golf but he had cause to rue his generosity, having finished second to Woods at the Cadillac.
"Steve has been a friend of mine since I came out here [on tour]," Woods explained. "And he is also one of the best putters that has ever lived. So anything he says about putting, I am going to listen to."
The more intriguing sub-plot to Woods' present prominence is, of course, the situation with Rory McIlroy. The world's top-ranked player had endured a miserable start to the year until the closing stretch at Doral. In his final 26 holes at the Cadillac Championship, McIlroy carded an aggregate score of 11 under, offering a hint that his recent turmoil is now behind him.
McIlroy, though, is yet to sample or handle the challenge of an on-form Woods hunting him down at the summit of the rankings. McIlroy's lead now sits at under one point. With the stage now set for such a battle, 2013 has the potential to be an epic golfing year. At the Masters, Woods is seeking to apply his most meaningful pressure on McIlroy to date and end a major drought which stretches back almost five years.
"I felt towards the end of last year that I was heading that direction where things were becoming better," said Woods. "I look at the three venues that I won last year, they were all three very good golf courses, and I think winning at Torrey [Pines – in the Farmers Insurance Open in January] and then winning in Miami I've been on some pretty tough tracks.
"Bay Hill can play easy but we didn't have it easy on Sunday [last year]; it was more like a US Open in Orlando. That gave me so much confidence heading into the off-season that I was heading in the right direction."
Woods added: "I just keep going, keep plugging along, keep working with the things that Sean [Foley, his coach] wants me to do, and lo and behold, I've had two really good weeks this year. Any time I can win prior to Augusta it always feels good. I've been able to do it a few times throughout my career, which is nice."
Woods' challenge now is to demonstrate the one quality which once made him so formidable: consistency.
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