Spieth Relishes Return to Action of Tiger Woods

GOLF needs Tiger Woods more than Tiger Woods needs golf. If you doubt it, ask yourself why so many of his rivals are so excited about the great man’s return to competitive action. Open champion Jordan Spieth is just the latest to go on record as saying that he cannot wait to see the 14-time major champion striding the fairways again.

And Spieth hopes and believes that Woods is well placed to make a successful comeback. Woods returned to action in December’s Hero World Challenge after a fourth back operation. The 42-year-old, who briefly held a share of the second-round lead in the Bahamas, finished ninth before announcing that he wanted to play a full schedule this year.

Spieth - the only player other than Woods to achieve 10 PGA Tour victories before the age of 24 - is predicting an exceptional period for the sport ahead of Woods' return. “It is a pretty special time to be a part of professional golf,” Spieth said. “With Tiger, we don’t exactly know what it is going to be, but because of the way the Hero World Challenge went, the confidence he is talking with, and the place he is at in life right now, he is in the best position he has been in a few years to come back and be a regular out here competing.

“Realistically, I can say based on what it does for ratings, what it does for maybe a non-golfer’s interest in golf, it’s got to be at the forefront of the excitement this year.”

Spieth, who recently proposed to his long-term girlfriend Anne Verret, is bidding to build on a strong 2017, which culminated in him winning the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. “The Open just did wonders for me,” Spieth said. “I’m the one out there putting it on the line every week. I’m going to fail and learn, I’m going to succeed. But I’m the one in the arena. There are going to be critics and people who disagree with the way you do things but I think I’m in a great place.

“Starting 2018, I’m ready for anything. I’m ready for failure, success and everything in between.”