Fit as ever, Woods ready for comeback

MARANA, Arizona – Tiger Woods pulled into the parking lot as sunlight began to filter across the desert floor. He ducked into the clubhouse to change into golf shoes and headed out for a practice round, a routine he has followed for a dozen years.

For a moment, it didn’t seem as though he had been gone from golf for the last eight months recovering from knee surgery.

“It feels the same. Nothing feels any different,” Woods said, recalling a conversation with his wife on Tuesday morning. “Just because it feels like I’m coming back to what I used to do.”

But there was one change that brought so much satisfaction.

Standing on the first tee at Dove Mountain, he drew back his 3-wood and sent the ball soaring against the Arizona sky, his swing looking just as good as it did that Monday in June at San Diego when he won the US Open in a playoff.

Only this time he didn’t wince. He didn’t stoop over and clutch his left leg. He didn’t have to use his club for a cane. Nothing hurt.

“I feel great,” Woods said. “I didn’t think it would feel this good before the surgery, or even just after the surgery, because I hadn’t known what it’s like to feel this way. It’s been so long. So to have it feel this healthy and this solid and secure, man, it’s a great feeling.”

He was about an hour late for his press conference, but he had a good excuse.

It was his first time walking 18 holes since the US Open, and “I forgot how long it takes,” said Woods, who has been riding a cart at home. (AP)