NASSAU, Bahamas — The heightened anticipation for Tiger Woods’ return to tournament golf after 15 months away has spread far beyond himself, golf fans and the media.
The players Woods will compete against at this week’s Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club are wondering breathlessly what they will witness when Woods tees it up at noon Thursday in the opening round.
“I want him to play well not only for the game of golf, I want him to play well for him,’’ said Patrick Reed, who is paired with Woods for the first two rounds.
“He’s still just turning every head when he walks into the dining area or if he’s on the driving range,’’ Jordan Spieth said Wednesday. “Everybody’s looking up to see him hit some shots. I was doing it [Wednesday] morning, interested obviously, hoping for the best, preparing for it, taking some time as I know he is.
“I think he’s accepted the fact that he’ll be patient. I think this is a perfect week for him to come back being fully healthy. It makes perfect sense down here. There’s less people that are out there watching, he can play quickly, he’s playing around a lot of people that he knows on a place that he’s familiar with and is a member. It seems like a good time to get some swings under the gun.’’
Spieth, like a lot of Woods’ fellow players, is hoping everyone taps the brakes and is patient with him, hoping immediate conclusions are not drawn from this week.
“Like anybody that takes off — I mean, a year and a half for injury or whatever other reasons — you don’t just come back and expect anything,’’ Spieth said. “It’s going to take a little time. I hope he has the time to fall into a rhythm and just get enough tournaments where he can kind of build up that seeing the shots under competition under the gun.
“From the talks I’ve had with him, he’s very excited. He seems very confident, and we all certainly hope for many reasons that he comes back fully healthy and his game’s fully back.’’
Woods — in loose, unofficial scoring because he was playing a practice round Wednesday — shot about a 2-under-par 70 in the pro-am. He was 3-under on the front nine with two eagles on par-5s.
Shane Lowry, who is not in the field this week, tweeted:
Reed, who has become friendly with Woods thanks to some Ryder Cup bonding when Woods was a vice captain, sounded amped to be playing with him.
“I can’t wait,’’ Reed said. “I’m really excited for him, I’m excited for the game of golf to have Tiger back, and to have that honor to be able to play with him in his first competitive round back in 16 months. It’s going to be awesome. Golf’s been waiting for him and I believe he’s ready … so it should be fun. Hopefully, we’ll both play some good golf and shoot some low ones.’’
Woods’ return is particularly thrilling for the younger generation of stars like Spieth and Reed, who have not had the chance to compete against Woods when he was healthy and at his best.
“You dreamed about playing against him when he was playing his best and see if you can ‘Y.E. Yang’ him, see if you can pull off a shot where you can take him down,’’ Spieth said, referring to Yang overtaking Woods in the final round of the 2009 PGA Championship.
Woods, after his pro-am round, said, “it felt good out there,’’ adding, “I felt good with pretty much everything. I was able to hit all the shots I needed to hit. I’ll be focused. I’ll be ready.’’What to expect from Woods after the long layoff and the chip yips and all of the drama?
“The main thing is that his back is in good shape and he’s healthy,’’ Henrik Stenson said. “That’s always the first part, and that seems to be pretty good from what I heard, what he mentioned to me at the Ryder Cup. I think [his] golf game, he’s been out of competitiveness for quite some time, so that might be a little while before you find your bearings again.
“But, as you know, he’s done some remarkable things throughout his career, and if there’s someone that can jump right back up and play some great golf again, that would be him. He’s got all the experience, and it might take a bit of time and it might go quickly, you never know.’’