OPINION Tiger on the prowl

TIGER WOODS is back – and the whole golfing world is giddy with delight. Actually, make that the whole sporting world.

The Valspar Championship in Florida, which ended in exciting style on Sunday with Paul Casey edging Woods by a single shot, was four remarkable days of thrilling entertainment, and a jolting reminder of just how much golf has missed Tiger Woods.

He didn’t win, but there can now be very little doubt that Woods has recovered from all the physical and mental troubles that turned him into such a sad and lonely figure.

It all came flooding back: the blockbusting drives off the tee; the sweetly struck iron shots; the mind-blowing improvisation from the rough and in among the trees; the staring down of difficult putts; the fierce concentration; and, of course, the red shirt on Sunday.

The huge galleries lining every fairway and every green simply lapped it up. They roared and whooped and shrieked. They were urging Woods on, shot for shot. And boy, did the big cat respond to all the love. He came so close to pulling off a stunning victory.

No matter, for this weekend Woods will be the big attraction at one of his favourite tournaments, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And that will be followed in the first week of April by the first major of the year, the Masters at fabled Augusta National, where Woods has already won four times.

If Woods can win at Augusta, and put a fifth green jacket in his closet, it will be the 15th major title of his career. Then he will be moving full steam ahead in his quest to beat the 18 majors chalked up by the great Jack Nicklaus, who has always predicted that Woods would one day overtake him.

There is a whole galaxy of gifted young (and not-so-young) stars in the game at the moment, but not one of them would deny that Tiger takes golf to a whole new level. And every single one of them would relish the chance to compete again against such outrageous talent and creativity.

Welcome back, Tiger.