NEW TAYL FOR TIGER

Woods is back this week with new clothes line and a renewed focus

IT is 10 months since he started an official event on the PGA Tour and a year since he played four full rounds in one.

It is not too far shy of half a decade since he last won a tournament and he will be eligible for seniors golf at the end of 2025.

But when the viewing figures for the first round of this week’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles are collected, you can be sure they will show one thing.

Tiger Woods remains the biggest draw in golf.

That is why LIV offered him £600million to join them, that is why the PGA Tour has given him £30million in bonuses over the past three years, even though he has only played in eight events during that time.

And that is why – on the eve of his return to PGA Tour action – Woods was at the glitzy launch of his new clothing line in LA with company Taylormade.

The ‘Sunday

Red’ brand references his traditional choice of colour for the final round in tournaments and the logo, a tiger emblem, is made up of 15 stripes, the number of Majors that Woods has won.

The chances of Tiger adding to that tally and getting closer to the Jack Nicklaus record of 18 are slim and none.

But as Saudi-funded LIV Golf continues to lure big names to its operation, the PGA Tour will be desperate for Woods to be able to fulfil his recently stated ambition of playing one tournament a month.

Woods finished 18th in the 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge in December (not an official PGA Tour event) as he began his latest comeback from serious injury, having undergone ankle surgery last April.

And if his fitness gets him through the Genesis Invitational – an event he hosts – Woods is likely to play in next month’s Players Championship before heading to The Masters in April. After a succession of low-profile winners in 2024, the PGA Tour will be thankful for Woods’ stardust, especially as defending champion Jon Rahm has since defected to LIV.

But there will be other big guns at Riviera Golf Club, with European Ryder Cup heroes Rory Mcilroy and Viktor Hovland vying for favouritism with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

But even though he is priced up at 175-1 to pull off a victory, all eyes will be on Tiger… and his new gear.

“Sunday red – it’s me,” smiled Tiger. “It started with my mom (Kultida). She thought that being a Capricorn, my power colour was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and won some tournaments.

“Lo and behold, I go to a university that is red, Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament.

“And every single tournament I’ve played as a professional, I’ve worn red. It has just become synonymous with me.”

And the PGA Tour can only hope he is in Sunday red this weekend.

Viewing figures will show that Tiger remains the biggest draw in golf