Tiger is Back/the Recession is Over

Golf's recession is about to end.

The stimulus package golf fans have been waiting for has arrived. The recession in golf will soon be over.

Tiger Woods is back.

Woods' return figures to spike golf interest, television ratings and the gate.

He announced yesterday on his web site that he will defend his title next week in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, his first competition since he underwent knee surgery a couple of days after winning the U.S. Open on a broken leg. He also said that he believes his reconstructed left knee and game are good enough to win the Feb. 25-March 1 tournament at the new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design at Dove Mountain in suburban Tucson.

"I'm now ready to play again," Woods said.

The last shot Woods hit for real was a short par putt on the 91st hole of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he defeated Rocco Mediate in a playoff to capture his 14th major, which Woods described as "probably the best ever" under the circumstances.

He had surgery after the Masters last year to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and suffered a double stress fracture in his left leg while preparing for his return.

He limped badly over the final few days of the U.S. Open, later saying the swelling was so bad at night that he couldn't see his knee cap. A week after winning, he had reconstructive surgery. What to expect?

"He's human," swing coach Hank Haney said. "He has played one tournament in 10 months. I would think he would be a little rusty, but I really don't know what to expect. Nothing with Tiger ever surprises me."

Haney said the swing hasn't changed, but there might be one difference."He's working on the same stuff that he's always been working on, but he'll be able to do it with a strong leg now," Haney said. "It will be a little different in the finish because his knee doesn't give way."

"He came out five years ago and said he had 20 percent of his ACL, and then none of it," Haney said., "Now he has 100 percent of his ACL and his legs have never been strong, and somehow people want to think, 'Will he be OK?' They're not following logic. The only thing he has to deal with his being away for a long time. How long it takes him, I don't know. But he is Tiger Woods."

If none of the 64 players in the field pull out, No. 1 seed Woods would draw Australian Brendan Jones in the first round. Jones, 33, played a full PGA Tour season in 2005, finishing 144th in earnings, and won three times on the 2007 Japan Golf Tour, where he was second in earnings. He has won eight times in Japan, playing there full-time every year since 2000 except for '05. Jones made four cuts in five 2008 PGA Tour starts, with a best finish of T-33 at the Match Play.