Different comeback, same old Tiger. After 15 months on the sidelines with that gammy back of his, Tiger Woods plonked himself in front of the media in the Bahamas yesterday and delivered his usual statement of intent ahead of this week’s Hero World Challenge. “I'm going to do what I always do,” said Woods when asked what the expectations are for a tournament that he is hosting. “If I enter an event, I'm going to try and win the thing.”
Given his prolonged lay off and the fact that some of his other comebacks have been fairly traumatic, most folk probably would have taken those words with the same kind of snorting derision that used to greet Comical Ali’s spoutings of propaganda.
“I know Bubba (Watson) shot 25-under last year,” added Woods of a robust standard that should be set in a stellar 18-man field for this 72-hole, no-cut shoot-out. “I haven’t played in a while. 25-under might be hard. But I want to post scores and get myself in that mix come Sunday. I know it’s a tall order since I’ve been away for such a long time but the mindset is still the same. The mindset of competing hasn’t changed.”
It’s nearly 470 days since Woods last played in an event, with a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship back in August 2015 marking the last time we saw the Woods on the tees in a competitive outing.
The reports coming out of the Bahamas have been upbeat. The 14-time major winner appears to be in decent fettle, he’s battering away with a full swing and he’s launching drivers well over 300 yards. Of course, things can be very difficult in the midst of close quarters combat with a card in the hand and the unflinching gaze of the modern media analysing every single movement in forensic detail.
A month shy of his 41st birthday, there are plenty who will say he is finished but plenty of others who are not quite ready to join the battalion of naysayers just yet.
His stint as a Ryder Cup vice-captain at Hazeltine in September, and all the high-fiving, back-slapping camaraderie that it involved, was an engaging, enjoyable and eye-opening experience for Woods but as a born competitor, there’s still nothing quite like the frontline of active golfing service.
“I’ve had enough of watching guys like ‘Kuch’ (Matt Kuchar) from a golf cart and while I love him to death, I’m done with that and I need to get back out playing again him and the other guys,” he said. “What I went through last year and being at this year’s Ryder Cup that’s enough and what most people don’t understand is that how much of a fraternity it is out here.
“The amount of dinners I’ve attended with the guys there along with the texts and the phone calls over the last 14, 15, 16 months, they wanted me to come back out and play.
“There have been fun practice rounds back home with the guys playing for a little side change but to get back out here at this level is the challenge. It’s the result of a lot of hard work and it’s involved an inordinate amount of patience which is as everyone may know, is not one of my hallmarks.
“I don’t know what my back is going to be doing but would I like to play a full schedule for the next decade plus? Yes, I would as that would be great. Can I? I don’t know and we’ll see.”
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