Woods returns to game in better place

NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods says he is on the “other side” of too many years relying on pain medication to cope with his back surgeries, which led to his arrest on a DUI charge six months ago.

“I’m loving life now,” he said Tuesday.

Woods is making yet another return to competition this week at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-player event with no cut at Albany Golf Club. It’s his first tournament in 10 months and his first time competing since fusion surgery in April, the fourth operation on his back.

Early indications are that Woods is in a much better spot than when he returned a year ago in the Bahamas. According to those who played with him in recent weeks, his swing looks faster and more fluid, and Woods appears to be happy and healthy.

Woods reached a low point on Memorial Day when he was arrested after Florida police found his car parked awkwardly on the side of the road about 15 miles from his home, with Woods asleep behind the wheel. Toxicology reports revealed that Woods had painkillers, a sleep drug, an anti-anxiety drug and the active ingredient for marijuana in his system. Last month, he pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge to avoid jail time.

“I’ve come out the other side and I feel fantastic,” Woods said. “Now that I’m feeling the way I’m feeling, it’s just hard to imagine that I was living the way I was living with my foot not working, my leg not working and then the hours of not being able to sleep at all because of the pain.”

Woods hasn’t won since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, his 79th title on the PGA Tour that leaves him three short of tying Sam Snead’s record.