Hopes high for Woods fifth comeback
NASSAU, Bahamas – One year later, the scene hadn’t changed.
Jordan Spieth paused on the 17th green and looked across the water to the adjacent fairway at Albany Golf Club as Tiger Woods hit his shot to the ninth green, just like he did last year at the Hero World Challenge.
Curiosity is just as high over another return from injury for Woods and how he will fare after a long layoff.
What’s different about the expectations for this comeback – his fifth since he first had back surgery in the spring of 2014 – is they are more about how long Woods will last than what kind of scores he posts.
“He seems more confident this year the way he’s walking and talking,” Spieth said Wednesday in a whisper, having lost his voice to illness. “He seemed more excited at the Presidents Cup before he was even swinging, more anxious. And it seemed to really bother him that he was following doctor’s orders, like he really wanted to get going. So once he was given the go, I think it was exciting for him.
“So we’re all very interested, as we should be, in how it goes for him this week – and obviously, hoping that’s the start.”
The start of his latest comeback is Thursday against an 18-man field that features eight of the top nine players in the world. It’s the first time every shot counts for Woods since a 77 in the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3.