GOLF: PHILIP REIDgets the views of Tiger Woods, who is happy to be back playing tournament golf pain free

THE ERSTWHILE prodigal son has returned to a Major for the first time since he flirted with contention in the US Masters in April. That fourth-placed finish, behind Charl Schwartzel, is the best performance of Tiger Woods’s truncated season and, since then, the examinations set by the US Open at Congressional in June and the British Open at Royal St George’s last month have passed him by.

With Woods, especially when it comes to the Majors, watching from afar doesn’t sit easily.

Now, he’s back. His injured knee and Achilles have both healed and, although only time will tell, the one-time untouchable had some of his old spark about him. “I’m finally healthy, I haven’t been in a while. I was always trying to block out pain and that’s not a lot of fun to play through. It’s nice to have a bounce in my step again and walk around these hills. At Augusta, for instance, on (the) Sunday, it was pretty intense.”

Maybe the post-round comments of his old bagman Steve Williams in Akron on Sunday irked him. Yesterday, Woods refused to comment expansively on his former caddie, other than to confirm he had been surprised – “Yeah,” he said, nodding his head – that Williams had said what he did. “I’m not going to speculate on Steve. Those are obviously his feelings and his emotions and his decision to say what he wants to say,” added Woods.

Still, it has transpired that Woods’s manager Mark Steinberg did talk with Williams here at Atlanta Athletic Club (after which Williams said he would make no further comments about Woods) and, also, that Woods had sent Williams a congratulatory text on his win in teaming-up with Adam Scott. Presumably, Williams’ post-round words came before he got to read Woods’s congratulations! Anyway, Woods – at his diplomatic best – wasn’t keen on stirring up matters any further here yesterday as he concentrated instead on his efforts to add a 15th Major to his career wins. What were his expectations for this week? “A ‘W’,” responded Woods, using the letter that signifies a win in his vernacular. “A nice ‘W’,” he expanded.

Woods – whose last win anywhere came in the 2009 Australian Masters, one of seven wins he had worldwide that year – has not lost his competitive streak. “The goal is to win every tournament I play in, so that’s not going to change. But I think the first thing is I had to get healthy in order to get back to that level. I hadn’t been able to practice, hadn’t been able to work on my game with Sean (Foley, his coach). I’ve been sidelined for a long time . . . now, I can start playing again.”

Having reappeared at Akron last week for the first time since withdrawing from the Players in May due to his knee and Achilles injuries, Woods is ready to kick on – still with Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 Majors in his sights – after what he termed “a frustrating” year.

“I have more energy because I am not trying to block out pain and trying to ignore that. I can just go out there and just play golf. I’ve been away from the game for while, but I’m starting to get the feel of hitting shots and how far the ball is going and just getting more target awareness that comes from playing in tournament golf.”