Thursday 25 January 2018 09:29, UK
Tiger Woods admitted he heads into this week's Farmers Insurance Open with "tempered expectations" over how he will perform, but he insisted his main priority was building up for the Masters.
Woods remains confident of being able to fulfil a full schedule of tournaments this year as he is no longer feeling any back pain since undergoing spinal fusion surgery shortly after his 2017 season was curtailed after just three competitive rounds.
The 42-year-old made an encouraging return to golf as he tied for ninth at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month, but he insisted he does not know what a good result would be for him at Torrey Pines, a venue where he has enjoyed outstanding success throughout his career.
"My expectations have tempered a little bit because I haven't played," said Woods after an eagle-birdie finish to his morning pro-am. "When I came back from my ACL injury in '08, it was hard playing in '09. It was nine months out, but I hadn't played a full schedule prior to that.
"Here, I haven't played a full schedule since 2015. It's been a long time and I just want to start playing on the Tour and getting into a rhythm of playing a schedule again. I haven't done that in such a long time so I don't know what to expect.
"I'll just go out there and just play, I'm going to grind it and give it everything I possibly have, try to put the ball in the right position, make some putts and try and work my way up that board. But as far as understanding what it takes to win out here, I don't know what the number is going to be.
"I'm usually pretty good at calling the number before the tournament starts, but I haven't seen a lot of these young guys play. I met Jon (Rahm) yesterday for the first time and there are a lot of names that I haven't seen, I haven't played with, I haven't seen their games. So we'll see."
Woods has so far committed to this week's event and the Genesis Open at Riviera next month and, although he refused to reveal his intended schedule from then on, he did admit that building up to the Masters was top of his priorities.
"I'm just trying to build towards April," he added. "I'm looking forward to playing a full schedule and getting ready for the Masters, and I haven't done that in a very long time. My schedule and my outlook from 1996 on was to try and get ready for Augusta, and there's no reason to change that."
The 14-time major champion also reiterated that his long-standing back problems were over following the spinal fusion surgery, and he is looking forward to the challenge of taking on one of the toughest venues on the PGA Tour.
"I have no more pain in my back, my back is fused, but that wasn't the case last year," Woods said. "My quality of life is infinitely better than it was last year at this point.
"I feel great coming back here to southern California, and this is a golf course and a tournament that I have had some pretty good results in and I'm really looking forward to it. I've played nine holes on the South and 18 today on the North, and I haven't seen it this firm and fast in a while.
"The greens are definitely very springy and it's going to be a challenge this week. It's going to be a little bit harder to make birdies then it has been in the past and overall I think it'll be a great challenge."
Woods also defended his decision to make his comeback at Torrey Pines rather than one of the easier venues on Tour, adding: "I could have come back and played last week where the conditions were easier, but you had to shoot six under par every day.
"Here it is a lot more difficult and we're going to be making a lot of pars, so either scenario would have been difficult. I've got to start somewhere and try and get my game and my feels back. I just really haven't played tournament golf since the Wyndham in 2015.
"So I just want some starts. I want to start feeling what it feels like to be out here and hit shots, grind out scores and that's something that I've been looking forward to. It's been a full year since I've played on the Tour so I'm really looking forward to it."
