I’M NOT DEAD ... I’M READY! WORLD OF GOLF
After 470 days Tiger’s back and eager to prove he still has plenty in the tank
TWENTY years after his ‘ Hello, world’ proclamation that introduced an era of unprecedented dominance, Tiger Woods this week heralded his longawaited return with another stark announcement. ‘I’m ready.’ Now that does not sound like a man about to cancel after succumbing to another savage bout of stage fright like he did last month, does it? Like Sir Laurence Olivier all those years ago, it seems Woods has dealt with his mental issues. It is to be hoped he will now make a similarly triumphant return to the stage.
A season that has delivered four epic majors, a wonderful Olympic golf competition, a fabulous Ryder Cup and any number of unexpected delights ends this week with a jaunt in the Bahamas that might end up among the most eagerly watched events of all.
Usually little more than another excuse for 18 leading players to fill yet another wheelbarrow, the Hero World Challenge will find all eyes trained on the only man in the field not ranked in the top 50 — 898th to be precise.
Last month, Woods was poised to return at a 72-hole PGA Tour event in California only to pull out at the last minute.
This exhibition shindig with no halfway cut to worry about is surely a far better idea.
What can we expect? Well, the fact he invited along two friendly American golf writers to watch him practise on Sunday was surely a good sign. Both duly came away impressed.
There was also a little of that old Woods defiance, when asked what he thought about the obituary notices posted on his illustrious career during his 15- month absence. ‘ I’m not dead,’ he said, ‘and I want to be out here so bad.’
When he tees it up on Thursday it will be nearly 470 days since he was last seen in competition. Ironically, at that last event, he posted his only top-10 finish of 2015 but he had come back too soon from a back operation and paid the price. He would have two more such surgeries before the year was out.
While Woods has been going through months of painful rehabilitation he has seen the top players get ever younger and hit the ball still further.
On Thursday, he will be less than a month shy of his 41st birthday and many, quite understandably, look at this natural order of things and consider he has no chance of getting close to a restoration of his awesome gifts.
But is there one among us who saw at close hand those 14 major victories — including the last one, lest we forget, while practically standing on one leg — who would join the naysayers just yet?
On the practice ground in the Bahamas, Woods reportedly looked in great shape. The swing was full and his speed through the ball was back. Drives were carrying more than 300 yards, and he practised without a break for well over two hours.
After every such lengthy session he still needs treatment but the important thing is there are no lasting effects. Woods believes he is healthy and can finally look forward to a return to tour life next year.
‘I can run with my kids now and my golf stamina is back,’ he said, somewhat poignantly.
Woods reportedly shot 63 at Seminole, one of Florida’s most difficult courses, last week, but everything is different when there are millions of eyes on you and you have a scorecard and pencil in hand.
‘Yes I’m nervous about what’s going to happen but it’s good to be that way,’ he said. ‘It was a smart decision not to rush this comeback. The competitor inside me wanted to return so badly, I was itching for it, but I finally decided: why rush? Let’s wait a little more and get this one right.’