‘Don’t expect too much on Tiger’s return’
MAJOR winners Justin stin Rose and Padraig Harrington stressed ssed the importance of not placing too much expectation tation on Tiger Woods, after t he American g re a t announced his return turn to competition this month.
Woods will tee-up up later this month at his s own 18-man Hero World rld Challenge in the e Bahamas.
It will be the 1 4 - t i me major w i n n e r ’s f i r s t appearance since he withdrew after r one round of Februuary’s Dubai Desert ert Classic.
Rose, who claimed med a remarkable comeback victory at a last week’s WGC-HSBC Champions, Champion is excited that the former world No No1 will be back in action.
“It is cool Tiger is coming back ba to competition and it seems clear thr through some of his recent tweets that he h has been gearing up for something some and the obvious and logical lo choice would seem to be the Hero Challenge,” Challe said Rose ahead ahea of this week’s Turkish Tu Airlines Open Ope in Antalya. Ant “It is g o i n g t to be sp special an and fun to see him playing there as w we all have missed him. I do feel expectations, for a first time ever, will be down and there will be more curiosity than expectations, but Tiger is a determined and confident guy and he will come back believing he can do well.
“So it would be totally unfair to place any expectations on Tiger and we all should be pleased that he does seem healthy and capable of playing golf again.”
The 41-year-old Woods has not won a major tournament since the 2008 US Open but did claim five PGA Tour titles in 2013 as he returned to the top of the world rankings.
But he has since struggled with a series of back injuries and has slipped to No1,180 in the world.
“I know he has had a rough ride with his back, and he has been in a lot of pain for a long time, so from a quality of life point of view it is just nice to see him up and about again and back to playing golf,” said 2013 US Open champion Rose. “Then no doubt he can then build on that and think about winning golf tournaments again.”
Three-time major champion Harrington has also had to battle injuries, having shoulder surgery in March.
“It is great news Tiger is returning to competition and it could be the mostwatched rounds of golf all season ahead of Steph Curry [the NBA star who played a Web.com Tour event in August],” the Irishman said.
“I for one can’t wait to see him back out here, but I must say one thing and that is let’s not put him under any pressure. The best all of us can do is welcome him back and be pleased he is again competing as we all have missed Tiger.”