TIGER IS BACK.
And this time it’s for real.
After last month’s false start, the 14-time Major champion is finally ready to return from the longest layoff of his career and tee up at the Hero World Challenge on Thursday.
It will be Woods’ first competitive action since August 2015 with a back injury and subsequent surgery keeping him off the course for 15 months.
Now the golf world waits to see if there is any resemblance to the Tiger of old.
“One of my biggest goals is to try to get into the top 1,000 of the world ranking,” he joked on Tuesday. “If I can sneak my way into the top 1,000, that’d be a great goal.”
(That should be easy – he’s still ranked at a comparatively lofty 898th.)
The 18-player invitational event in the Bahamas is hosted by Woods’ charity foundation.
“I’m going to try to win this thing,” he said. “Bubba went low, shot 25-under (to win in 2015). That’s going to be a tall order. I haven’t played in a while.
“But hey, I’m going to give it my best, I’m going to be focused, I’m going to do what I can do and put the ball in the correct spots, give myself looks and try to bury these putts and post scores, and get myself in that mix come Sunday afternoon.”
– Additional reporting by AFP
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