Tiger Woods Comments on Comeback, Injury and Swing Ahead of Return

Ahead of his return to competitive golf at this weekend's Hero World Challenge—an 18-man field composed of golfers in the top 50 of the world rankings—Tiger Woods spoke to the media Tuesday about his return from injury, his age and his new and hopefully improved swing.

Woods hasn't played competitively since August, as he's been dealing with back issues. Per Golf Digest on Twitter, however, those injury concerns are behind him:

The big topic of conversation was his new swing, per Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel:

Woods elaborated on that "old but new" swing, per the PGA Tour:

The transformation is due in part to a change in swing coaches, as Woods fired Sean Foley in August and brought on Chris Como as a consultant. He spoke about the differences in the approaches of the two men to his swing:

"

Tiger said he was "physically unable" to do some of the things Foley was teaching. "I needed to go a different direction," Tiger said.

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 2, 2014"

Woods knows his swing is still a work in progress, though:

But the player who has already won 14 majors and 79 PGA titles isn't worried that his best golf is behind him:

Sobel is withholding judgment one way or the other on Woods' comeback until the golfer gets back on the course:

The game of golf is likely hoping for a Woods resurgence as well. While there are young guns atop the game now, none more prominent than Rory McIlroy, a return to form for Woods would drum up huge interest in the sport, especially if Woods could challenge Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

If nothing else, the sporting world remains obsessed with the man who once dominated the sport like few others but has fallen off in recent years. All eyes will be on his refurbished swing this weekend.