Woods relaxed ahead of comeback in Bahamas

Now he sees the sun on the horizon – and is chasing it.

GOLF LIVE’s Ryan Asselta joins GOLF.com’s Jeff Ritter and Sean Zak to discuss whether Tiger Woods’ can beat his chip yips in his return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge.Of all the clubs Tiger Woods has in his home putting studio, there are two clubs that are off-limits.

Tiger was synonymous with Nike golf, and it will be a little jarring to see him play other equipment. After a year ago and the Ryder Cup, that’s enough. I have missed the camaraderie, the jabbing and sheer competition with the players on the tour.

Reigning US Open champion Dustin Johnson and fellow American Brooks Koepka follow Woods onto the course with the final two duos consisting of global talent – Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South African Louis Oosthuizen followed by Scotsman Russell Knox and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo. Woods can only dream of finishing a career like that; he knows that never happens in golf. “On top of that, it also gave me a couple more months to get stronger and get my practice schedule up”.

But, there is no doubt that more people will probably be using Bridgestone balls more often since Woods is using them. When asked about expectations, the 14-time major champion didn’t couch anything in terms of moral victories, but rather real ones.

He also noted that Bubba Watson won a year ago at 25-under par, and it probably will take something around that to win.

“I’m going to try to do the same thing I always do”, Woods said.

“That’s one of the things I was talking to Derek and Tino about and that his how long did it take them at the start of each match to get ready to go out and play in each game”, disclosed Woods. I can hit all the shots now, on call. “I know that’s a tall order”. I won the Masters in ’97 with it, and this one (the Scotty Cameron).

“I’m trying to find something”, Els said. “I think I made the right decision”.

There were times during his 15 months away from golf that Woods wasn’t entirely sure that would be the case.

“Put it this way: It’s a lot better situation this year than last”, Woods said. “He said, ‘No, you have to send them back out there, they are playing so well'”. I want to be a player again! Woods went at it hard Sunday during a two-plus hour practice session in which he was testing his equipment and hitting numerous shots with all his clubs.

Plans for the shoe have been in the offing since July 2015 – a month before his extended lay-off – and the team behind the design leveraged the additional time they had with Woods to cater for his needs as his rehab progressed.

His stint as a Ryder Cup vice-captain at Hazeltine in September, and all the high-fiving, back-slapping camaraderie that it involved, was an engaging, enjoyable and eye-opening experience for Woods but as a born competitor, there’s still nothing quite like the frontline of active golfing service. Every shot will be scrutinised more than ever this week, but that, I’m afraid, comes with the territory when you are Tiger Woods. I care about what I do out there. “It’s a different feel”.

“As far as concerns besides that, no”. Even if Woods said he wants to compete, don’t get your hopes up. Majority are safe, starting with Alex Noren of Sweden (No. 9) and Tyrrell Hatton of England (No. 23), who will be playing the Masters for the first time.