Fowler massively impressed with Tiger’s progress

RICKIE FOWLER has hyped up Tiger Woods’ impending return to golf by suggesting he is more than ready for his comeback.

Woods (caricature) announced last month he would make a surprise return to the sport after nine months out.

He teased fans with videos on social media of him working on his swing and practicing on courses.

And he will soon be back in competitive action when he makes his comeback at the Hero World Challenge next week.

Many former players have warned against expecting too much too soon from the 14-time major champion.

But Fowler isn’t playing down Woods’ return and suggested his long game has reemerged.

That’s according to Golf. com’s Dylan Dethier, who probed Fowler for any insight into how Woods is performing. When Dethier asked the American golfer if the rumours were true that Woods had been hitting it past him at Medalist, Fowler said: “Oh yeah. Way by.” The 41-year-old has had a series of injuries in recent years coupled with troubles in his personal life that have prevented him from getting back on top. “People ask me, ‘Why don’t you go back to your 2000 swing?’ I can’t, because my knee is trashed from all those years of playing that way,” Woods said on a podcast with Geno Auriemma. “I’ve had four operations on my knee. Forget when my back was bad, pre-surgeries and pre-back problems, people were saying the same thing. ‘Why don’t you go back to 2000?’ “I can’t do that anymore. I have to look for a different way.” – Express Sport