CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The air around the PGA Tour has gotten thin again.

Not only is Tiger Woods back, having reinserted himself atop the golf world, but the Woods vortex appears to be running at such high RPMs again that it’s leaving little available oxygen for the rest of the golfers.

Woods is not playing in this week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where a number of the game’s top stars — such as Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, defending-champion Jason Day — are teeing it up. But his presence still is felt.

A palpable buzz remains evident from Woods’ Masters victory three weeks ago. It’s impossible to have a conversation with anyone about golf and not have Woods’ name come up.

Much of the golf world would like to skip ahead two weeks to Bethpage Black, where Woods will play next and try to win his 16th major at the PGA Championship.

Harold Varner, who grew up 25 minutes south of Charlotte and is in the field this week, said he was, like most of the population, rooting for Woods at Augusta.

“It’s great for my wallet, it’s great for the game of golf, it’s great for you guys [media], it’s great for me,” Varner said of Woods winning major championships again. “I just don’t see how you cannot root for him. We need that.”

Justin Rose called Woods’ comeback “monumental.”

“I’ve never seen a Masters Sunday on the couch before,” said Rose, who had missed the cut. “But if there was a good one to watch, it was that. Francesco Molinari is a good friend of mine … but when it became apparent that he was going to be out of it towards the end, absolutely 100 percent [I was] rooting for Tiger, along with 99 percent of everyone else.”

Rose, along with any other player you speak to, firmly believes Woods has redirected the narrative of his career to his chase of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championships.

“I doubted that it could be done, but then in the last year or so I didn’t doubt it could be done,” Rose said. “He’s looked so good every time he has played for about a year or so. And I always thought the major championships are almost as easy for him to win as any other tournament. His experience really sort of hits home. You could see it down the stretch [at Augusta]. I’ve never seen him look so calm.”

McIlroy shook his head Wednesday thinking about how far Woods has come, recalling a March 2017 lunch he had with him in Jupiter, Fla.

“All he was thinking about was quality of life, watching his kids grow up, being able to play soccer in the backyard,” McIlroy said. “So his mind wasn’t even on golf, which sort of told me he’s sort of thinking about, this could be it. To think in two years of what’s happened, it’s incredible.

“I don’t think people quite appreciate what has went into it, but it just shows he’s gritty, he’s determined. It’s always been one of his best qualities, and it was awesome to see. For everyone in golf, you know, all of us, whether you’re a player, whether you’re in the media, it’s just great for our game in general.”

McIlroy said he believes the Woods Masters victory “rejuvenates, reenergizes that narrative” that he’ll match or break Nicklaus’ record. What McIlroy does not see returning, though, is the dominance Woods once displayed.

“It’s not the same,” McIlroy said. “It’s not Pebble Beach in 2000 [Woods’ 15-shot win]. I think that’s a once-in-a-lifetime sort of performance. I don’t think something like that’s going to happen again. But he’s competitive, and he’s going to be up there. Going forward, he knows that he can win on the biggest stage again. It’s just a great story.”

Rose agreed that “the dominant Tiger of 2000, winning eight, 10 times, I’m still not sure that’s possible.”

“It is a tough level to get to,” Rose said. “[But] he’s now right there with the best players in the world every single week who has a great chance to win. I think him getting back to that level is unbelievable from where he was — chipping yips, stuff like that, stuff that he had to deal with that aren’t just injury based — it’s amazing to be where he is.”