Rising stars hungry to take on an in-form Tiger Woods as golfing icon makes his return in Hero Challenge
Woods has spent most of the year recovering from his fourth back surgery, in April
The 24-year-old rising star is relishing the opportunity.
“He has 79 (wins) and 14 majors,” Thomas said. “I mean, I’m probably just as excited to watch it as you are.”
Thomas won five times on the PGA Tour in the 2016-17 season, nabbing his first major title at the PGA Championship and capturing the FedEx Cup crown.
Woods, meanwhile, spent most of the year recovering from his fourth back surgery, in April.
Now Woods says he is free of the pain he was trying to conquer with medications, and is “loving life.”
But Thomas says it’s natural that the 41-year-old superstar, owner of 14 major titles, still garners so much attention.
“The same reason that when Michael Jordan came back to play basketball,” Thomas said. “When you’re one of the greatest of all time to play your sport and just do things that people can’t and haven’t done before and you just have such a huge fan base,” he said. “There’s nobody that moves the needle like him, even now.”
British Open champion Jordan Spieth says Woods seems “more confident” than he did at this time last year, when he launched what proved to be an abortive return from injury.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion in the 18-man tournament that benefits Woods’ charitable foundation, would also like a chance to compete against a player he once idolised.
On the eve of the tournament Matsuyama recalled watching Woods during his electrifying first Masters victory in 1997.
“Before school I would turn on the TV and watch and he would always be on,” Matsuyama said. “I never challenged for a championship or anything with him, but hopefully I’ll get that chance down the road.
“Justin and Jordan (and I), we haven’t seen his best golf. But if he gets back to that point, every week he’ll be the favourite and he’ll win a lot of tournaments.”