GOLF | Free of ankle pain, Tiger Woods excited to play in the Hero World Challenge

Tiger Woods returns to professional golf at the Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas. After a long period of inactivity, Woods is pain-free and excited to compete. He is curious to see if he can go the distance and is still driven by his competitive spirit. Woods also voiced his surprise at the PGA Tour's proposed deal with LIV Golf and the need for players to be involved in decision-making. Hero MotoCorp increased the prize purse to $4.5 million.

There is an air of expectation in the lead up to the Hero World Challenge here. The chance to see Tiger Woods in action at Albany adds considerable heft to the tournament, which tees off here on Thursday.

This will be Woods’ first appearance in a professional event since he withdrew in the third round of the Masters in April. A couple of weeks later, he underwent subtalar fusion surgery on his right ankle.

Due to long periods of inactivity, Woods’ world ranking has fallen to 1328. He received a sponsor exemption for this 20-man field.

Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Woods stated that he is pain free. The American superstar, however, is curious to see if he can go the distance.

“My game feels rusty. I haven’t played in a while. I’m excited to compete and play. I do not have any of the ankle pain that I had in Augusta. In that regard, the surgery was a success. The other parts of my body has taken the load though; there is some soreness,” Woods, 47, said.

“I had to get my ankle either replaced or fused. We chose fusion. The next six months of doing nothing — that’s the hard part. The first couple of months were really rough. Now I’m just as curious as you all to see what happens next,” Wood said.

The famous competitive spirit still burns bright inside the 15-time Major winner.