Friday 3 April 2015 22:19, UK
Tiger Woods returning to action at next week's Masters comes as no surprise, according to Claude Harmon III.
Woods will resume his quest to catch Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major wins next week, after announcing via his website on Friday that he will end a two-month break from the sport and play in the opening major of the year.
The 39-year-old has battled poor form and injuries in recent years, seeing the former world No 1 drop out of the world's top 100 for the first time since 1996.
Speculation had mounted as to whether Woods would miss the Masters for a second year running but Claude Harmon III, grandson of former Masters champion Claude Harmon Sr, always believed the 14-time major winner would feature at Augusta.
“I would have been surprised if he hadn’t played,” Harmon told Sky Sports 4. “By all accounts he has been spending a lot of time on his home course and the reports have been that he has been shooting some low numbers down there.
“He has had Chris Como there working on his swing so I’d have been shocked if he hadn’t played. As a golf fan, like everyone else, I hope this goes well for Tiger Woods and he goes to the Masters, performs well and we don’t see any of the negatives we’ve seen from him in the past."
Back on top?
Woods managed only 11 holes at Torrey Pines in February before withdrawing with back issues, following on from a career-worst second round 82 at the Phoenix Open.
The 39-year-old had been taking an indefinite break until he could improve his game to "compete at the highest level". although Harmon warns we shouldn't expect to see the former world No 1 immediately back to his best.
“You just don’t know which Tiger Woods is going to show up. You don’t know whether the legend of Tiger Woods that has won all these majors is going to show up, or if the Tiger Woods that we’ve seen over the past two or three years where he plays, pulls out and has bad rounds will.
"It’s not realistic for him to keep playing at that level, he’s getting older in years and the game has changed. When Tiger Woods came out in 2000 he was the longest hitter we’d ever seen and now there’s 40 guys in the PGA Tour that can hit it past Tiger.
“This could go horribly wrong. If he goes to Augusta with the short game that he had in Phoenix and San Diego, he could make a double-digit number on a hole if he misses a green and displays the short game that he had.
“I don’t think he would show up unless he would feel ready but having said that, he said he was ready to play in San Diego and Phoenix - so the new normal now with Woods is you just don’t know which player is going to show up.
“Golf is a hard game and I think Woods is proving to everybody who plays the sport how difficult it can be. I think he spoiled us, he made us believe that he could come week in, week out and play at a level that’s unrealistic."
Can Tiger win a fifth Green Jacket? Watch the Masters from Thursday April 9 live on Sky Sports 4 – your home of golf.
