Tiger can win this week: Poulter

“I think as a player, someone who obviously in the years that I’ve been playing golf, has looked up to Tiger for the record that he’s got, for the number of wins that he’s managed to bank, he’s incredible”.

It will be the first time Woods has played competitively since he shared 10th at Greensboro in August of a year ago. I have missed the needling, the laughs.

“Yeah, I can play”, he said. “I’ve had a lot more close friends out here than I thought”. Which is understandable considering the talent he faces, the rust he hopes to dust off quickly and the winning score of 25 under defending champion Bubba Watson posted last year, a score that could be duplicated this year if the wind doesn’t howl.

“I’m going to try to do the same thing I always do”, he said. “He has got a smile on the face and a bounce in his step”.

While questioning that career mortality, he started thinking about life after golf.

That he is past 40 has hit him, and the American, who has plummeted to 898 in world rankings, laughs and adds, “Oh yeah It has hit me”. Ive seen his swing.

The sportsbook also is offering odds on whether Woods will withdraw during the tournament: “Yes” is +300, with “No” -360. It was that period of a month or two, I just couldn’t get out of bed – I needed help.

“I have way more shots now, because I’ve played way more golf”. I got to spend time with the kids, play soccer with them and take them around golf courses to show what daddy does for a living!

And while at one time they would have been quaking in their boots, Woods no longer inspires the same fear among the rest of the field.

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

The event is owned by Woods’ foundation and is putting down roots in the Bahamas after three sites in three years.

Like it or not, it’s exciting for golf that Woods is about to be back playing.

“It’s incredible to see the outpouring of support from our side. We’re pulling for him and want him to be the best he can”. He joked he had to get the tournament “committee” to give him an exemption, as he’s not a top-50 player in the world right now.

Woods said he has his speed back and his distance is there – he was carrying his 3-iron 235 yards, his 5-wood 260, the 3-wood 280 and the driver 300-310, with Trackman scrutinizing each shot for spin rate, ball speed, swing speed and distance, among other variables.

“Yeah, there’s nerves, of course, because I care”. Three of his five events prior to that had resulted in early exits from the US Open, the Open Championship and the US PGA Championship.

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.

“If he feels good after four days and he’s not hurting on Monday morning, then he’ll play in January”.