Tiger Woods will play his first tournament on the PGA Tour in nearly one-and-a-half years when he tees up at the Hero World Challenge at Albany in Bahamas. Woods has been recuperating from a back injury, and after putting off his comeback on several occasions, he will finally make his long awaited return.
Woods will be a part of an 18-man field in this Tiger Woods Foundation-hosted tournament, with the American very much the underdog going in. While Woods is ranked well outside the top 100, the rest of the 17 players are all inside the top 40. That includes Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and defending champion Bubba Watson.
Woods, though, cannot wait to get back to playing competitive golf again.
"It's nice being back out here," Woods said. "I think what most people don't really understand is how much of a fraternity this tour really is. "The amount of dinners I've gone out to with the guys, the texts, the phone calls over the last 14, 15, 16 months, the guys wanted me to come back out here and play or help in any way possible.
"I'm going to try to do the same thing I always do. I'm entered in an event, I'm going to try to win this thing. I haven't played in a while. But hey, I'm going to give it my best."
"I'm going to be focused, I'm going to do what I can do and put the ball in the correct spots, give myself looks and try to bury these putts, post scores, and get myself in that mix come Sunday afternoon."
The fact that there is no cut in this Hero World Challenge will help Woods to slowly grow into the tournament. There will be rust, for sure, but it will be a happy day for the fans and players alike to see one of the greatest of all-time return to action.
"The mindset's still the same," Woods, who will play with the Patrick Reed in the first round on Thursday, added. "I know they're going to try and beat me. I'm going to try and beat them.
"As the week goes on, I can give you more detailed answers on where I'm at and the feel that I have, but as of right now I'm still at the beginning stages of that process. I want to do this as long as I can, as long as the body will allow me to."
Tee times: First round: 11.10am local time (4.10pm GMT, 9.40pm IST): Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler.
11.20am local time (4.20pm GMT, 9.50pm IST): Jimmy Walker and Brandt Snedeker.
11.30am local time (4.30pm GMT, 10pm IST): JB Holmes and Zach Johnson.
11.40am local time (4.40pm GMT, 10.10pm IST): Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.
11.50am local time (4.50pm GMT, 10.20pm IST): Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar.
12pm local time (5pm GMT, 10.30pm IST): Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods.
12.10pm local time (5.10pm GMT, 10.40pm IST): Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
12.20pm local time (5.20pm GMT, 10.50pm IST): Hideki Matsuyama and Louis Oosthuizen.
12.30pm local time (5.30pm GMT, 11pm IST): Emiliano Grillo and Russell Knox.
Where to Watch Live
India: No live coverage.
USA: TV: Golf Channel all four rounds, NBC final two rounds. Live Streaming: Golf Channel Live.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 4. Live Streaming: Sky Go.
Radio: PGA Tour Radio.
