Masters champion Tiger Woods stages romance comeback
The five-time champion returns to the Masters at Augusta National Thursday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As Tiger Woods prepares to embark on another historical milestone to secure his sixth green jacket with a Masters win at Augusta National Golf Course this weekend, many fans of the power swinger will be watching along to see how his longtime girlfriend, Erica Herman, will be cheering him on to victory.
Woods is set to walk the sprawling greens and fairways just 14 months after surviving a frightening rollover car crash in February 2021 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer and interim CEO of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said at the time of the single-car accident that Woods endured a long surgical procedure to repair "significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MASTERS 2022: TIGER WOODS IS BACK
Athletes, politicians and celebrities from across the sports world reacted to Woods’ injury in the immediate aftermath.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Immediately following the crash, it was Herman who rushed to Woods to aid in his daunting recovery.
"Erica dropped everything to be with Tiger the moment she heard what happened," a source told Us Weekly in March 2021. "She’s been by his bedside, holding his hand and telling him everything’s going to be OK. He’s a champ and he’s got this."
Erica Herman at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on Dec. 14, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. (Darrian Traynor)
It was at the President’s Cup in September 2017 that Woods, 46, and Herman, 37, went public with their relationship. The world quickly became enamored with Herman after Woods won the Masters in glorious fashion in 2019 and planted a huge kiss on Herman to cap off his fifteenth major title victory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CELEBRITIES REACT TO TIGER WOODS' CAR CRASH: 'PRAYERS UP FOR THE GOAT'
At the time, Woods’ pal Arjun Atwal told Page Six that Herman, is "100 percent supportive, when he was down with his health and all that stuff," and added, "it’s not like he has a bunch of people around. She was right there for him."
Tiger Woods at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on Dec. 15, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. (Warren Little)
The pair met when Herman was studying political science as an undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Despite Herman’s connection to Woods, some folks further relayed to the outlet that they were often "scared to get too close" to Herman after Woods opened his own restaurant in Jupiter, Florida in 2015 and appointed her as his director of operations.
"She decorated during the Christmas season — and she’s Jewish. So she had the silver and gold ornaments and was wrapping presents, which everyone thought was very funny," Luke Copeland, who worked as a server assistant at The Woods in 2015 and 2016, told Page Six, adding that Herman was "very direct" but readily accessible nonetheless.
Tiger Woods with daughter, Sam, son, Charlie and girlfriend Erica Herman after the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 9, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR )
Additionally, Woods’ ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, is said to be in full support of Herman’s relationship with Woods – as are Woods’ children: daughter Sam, 14, and Charlie, who at just 12 years old is already a golf star in his own respect outside of his father.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tiger Woods with Elin Nordegren in 2004 in Detroit, Michigan. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
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"Elin has a friendly relationship with Erica," a source told People magazine in January 2019. "Tiger has come a long way and Elin acknowledges that. She is happy that he is dating Erica."
Tiger Woods and Erica Herman cheer on Rafael Nadal at 2019 US Open in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
On Tuesday, Woods was asked whether he thinks he could win this weekend. His simple response: "I do."
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"I can hit it just fine. I don't have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. Walking is the hard part," he added. "This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the conditions that my leg is in, it gets even more difficult. Seventy-two holes is a long road and it's going to be a tough challenge. And a challenge that I'm up for."
Woods played another nine holes during a practice round on Wednesday in preparation for the historical feat of chasing Jack Nicklaus’ majors record. Nicklaus has 18 major titles and Woods has 15.
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As of now, he is set to tee off at 10:34 a.m. ET on Thursday with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
Fox News’ Melissa Roberto and Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.