Tiger Woods' latest competitive comeback moves needle and raises questions on what to expect at Hero World Challenge

Legendary American golfer is due to play in Bahamas this week after months off the tour

Hero we go again! Sorry but couldn’t resist that one and, let’s face it, the title sponsor is a big factor in Tiger Woods making his latest competitive comeback in this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

The 15-time major winner hasn’t played any tournament golf since withdrawing before the resumption of the third round of The Masters in April, which came less than 24 hours after he’d tied the record for the most consecutive cuts in the event.

Woods was limping badly on the Saturday at Augusta National and cited a “reaggravation of plantar fasciitis” as the cause of his disappointing premature exit in the season’s opening major. A few weeks later, he then underwent surgery to address “arthritis stemming from ankle problems” and it was obvious then that we’d be seeing very little of him in a competitive environment this year.

Rory McIlroy will be among a host of intrigued onlookers this week watching how Woods fares.

As time ticked on, only two tournaments were a possibility in terms of the golfing world having a chance to see him in action again in 2023 and both those boxes have, indeed, now been ticked. In addition to teeing up in the Bahamas in a field that is being spearheaded by world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and double defending champion Viktor Hovland, the 47-year-old has also confirmed he’s joining forces again with his son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship in Florida in a fortnight’s time.

Twelve months ago, Woods was scheduled to return to action in the Hero World Challenge for the first time since missing the cut in the 150th Open at St Andrews last July before that plantar fasciitis flared up in his right foot and left him purely playing the role of host at Albany in the Caribbean. It’s a terrific boost for the tournament that, barring any last-minute issues and, to be fair, that can’t be ruled out when you take into account we are talking about someone who almost lost a leg in single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021, he’s teeing up on this occasion and you don’t just have to take my word for that.

“Yeah, looking forward to sitting on my ass at home and watching him,” admitted Rory McIlroy, speaking in Dubai during the season-ending DP World Tour Championship before putting his clubs away for a few weeks after deciding to skip the Bahamas bash on this occasion along with Masters champion Jon Rahm. “Look, it will be interesting. As long as he can get round 18 holes, he can still hit the ball, he can still do everything he needs to do. It’s just a matter of stringing four rounds together and him not feeling the effects too much afterwards.”

Which, of course, is the main challenge Woods has faced since undergoing a whole host of surgeries and, though he’s proved in the past that he possesses Superman qualities, notably when winning a fifth Masters in 2019 after openly expressing fears about his career possibly being over just 12 months earlier, McIlroy was right to sound a note of caution about what people should be expecting of him in terms of being competitive.

Tiger Woods catches a ball on the practice area during the third round of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National in April - his latest competitive appearance. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“I’m sure it’s pretty rusty,” said the world No 2 of the American’s game, admitting he’d not actually played with him recently in the Jupiter area in Florida, where they both live. “He only started hitting full shots a month ago, though I’m sure it doesn’t take him long to get back into the swing of things. But there’s a difference between hitting balls on the range and actually shooting a score and shaking the rust off. But obviously the Bahamas (where the course is pretty generous from the tee and also flat) is the perfect place for him to do that. Look, I’m just as intrigued as everyone else to see how he goes and it certainly gives the week a little more excitement.”

With due respect to the 19 others playing for a purse of $3.5 million, all eyes will be on one man when the action begins on Thursday while it will also be fascinating to hear what he has to say in a press conference on Tuesday, when he’ll sit alongside Dr Pawan Munjal, the chairman, managing director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp and a terrific supporter of golf on both sides of the Atlantic.

What will he have to say on the PGA Tour’s ongoing talks with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to try and create a bold new landscape for the game that, if Yasir Al-Rumayyan has his way, will include a LIV Golf League in some shape or form? And what about McIlroy’s recent decision to resign from the PGA Tour’s policy board after effectively being the US circuit’s main voice in the setting up of the breakaway tour, which sees Greg Norman still holding the reins for a 14-event schedule in 2024?

Oh, and it will also be interesting to hear what Woods has to say about the 2025 Ryder Cup as he seems the obvious choice for the PGA of America in terms of the home captain at Bethpage Black in New York, though some reckon he might hold off for an away gig, the 2027 at encounter at Adare Manor in Ireland, due to his long-time connection and friendship with the JP McManus.

Whatever he has to say and, in fairness, he’s much more open and engaging these days than he was when winning was the be all and end all, it will be headline news around the world because Tiger Eldrick Woods still moves that needle and, though not necessarily imperative any more for the game’s future, here’s hoping that continues for a wee while yet.