Tiger Woods: Justin Rose reveals what kind of condition legend is in ahead of comeback

Woods will make his first competitive appearance for over eight months when he returns to action as part of the 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge.

The 41-year-old has endured a physically challenging three years which has culminated in four back surgeries, his latest being this year after pulling out of the Dubai Dessert Classic in February.

He has made just three starts since August 2015 and has since dropped out of the world’s top 1,000.

But their is optimism from Woods and his fellow professionals that Woods’ latest comeback could see him become a competitor again.

And 2016 Olympic gold medallist Rose believes Woods has the mental strength and capabilities to make his latest comeback a success.  

“I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he looked good,” Rose said. 

“A couple of my friends have been playing with him and said that he’s in good shape.

“It’s always difficult coming off a full year or whatever it’s been without a scorecard in your hand. But he looks fit, healthy and I think from there he can play golf, right?

“He’s obviously got all the talent in the world and I think he’s motivated too, which is great. If he puts his mind to something I’m sure he can achieve what his goals are.

“It’s obviously great to have Tiger back, it’s the perfect event for him to come back to.

“It’s obviously a very small field. It’s pretty low-key, if there’s ever a low-key tournament for him

“It’s just great to see him back feeling good within himself, and his golf can build from there. If he performs like he did last time at the Hero that would be fantastic.

“I think he had 24 birdies. He led the field in birdies. He obviously had a bunch of mistakes which come from rustiness, but if we see that type of form that will be very encouraging.”