Tiger Woods returns to the golfing arena on Thursday, for the first time since pulling out of February’s Dubai Desert Classic, when he tees up for the Hero World Challenge. The 14-time major winner has been plagued by multiple injuries of late, but after recovering from back surgery the American is ready to roll in the Bahamas.
Being the competitor that he is Woods, who has won the tournament a whopping five years, is targeting victory for the first time since 2013, telling BBC Sport:
"I am just looking forward to getting through these four rounds, having a better understanding of where I am at.
"I am still learning this body. I want to be able to compete this week, give myself a chance on that back nine on Sunday to win this thing."
However, few are expecting the 41-year-old to finish top of the pile, including bookmakers who have him out at 33/1 (down from 50/1) to strike gold in the Caribbean, while he can be backed at 6/4 to finish in the top-10.
The Ernie Els designed links-style Albany course (par 72, 7400 yards) has been home to the tournament for two years, with Hideki Matsuyama triumphing last year, while Bubba Watson was the victor in 2015.
The tournament features just an 18-man field with Americans Justin Thomas - who will play alongside Woods - Dustin Johnson, 2014 champion Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler in the top echelons of the betting in what is an extremely strong and competitive field, with 16 of the top 32 players present.
Meanwhile, the in-form Justin Rose and the 2017 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood will be flying the flag for the Brits, with the duo priced at 10/1 and 25/1 respectively.
The tournament will be screened live on Sky Sports Golf, starting at 5.30pm on Thursday and Friday, 5pm on Saturday, then 4pm on the final day's play.
Thursday’s Pairings
- 11.10pm - Hideki Matsuyama, Francesco Molinari
- 4.21pm - Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell
- 4.32pm - Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger
- 4.43pm - Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood
- 4.54pm - Henrik Stenson, Alex Noren
- 5.05pm - Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
- 5.16pm - Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka
- 5.27pm - Kevin Kisner, Rickie Fowler
- 5.38pm - Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth
@TigerWoods getting ready for his return this morning at the Hero World Challenge.
