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Tiger Woods turns 42, has taken training to 'another level'

By Alex Butler
Assistant captain Tiger Woods of The United States team watches play in the morning foursomes matches at the Presidents Cup on September 30 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Assistant captain Tiger Woods of The United States team watches play in the morning foursomes matches at the Presidents Cup on September 30 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods turned 42-years-old on Saturday and he says he's taken his progress to "another level."

Woods wrote a lengthy blog post on Friday, detailing his comeback to competitive golf after a 10 month layoff.

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He said he's optimistic about 2018 and looks forward to "great things on the golf course."

Woods wowed golf fans when he finished tied for ninth place in the 2017 Hero World Challenge on Dec. 3 in the Bahamas. Rickie Fowler shot 18-under-par to win the tournament. Woods carded an 8-under-par.

Before he hosted that tournament, Woods played practice rounds with Fowler, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson at home.

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Woods said he only had about a month to fully prepare for the Hero World Challenge.

"The juices were flowing right away," Woods wrote. "It was just a matter of finding the rhythm of the round. One of the things we [Joe LaCava] did prior to the tournament was go down to the Bahamas and play four straight days to try and simulate a tournament. I felt good about it, and when we went back down and got into the tournament, I found my rhythm on the second hole."

"The biggest surprise for me was finding out that I had the lead after 27 holes. I knew I was close after I eagled the ninth. It was nice to have played well enough to do that after being gone so long."

"I can't express in words how great it felt to be back in the arena and how much I missed it. I want to thank Pawan Munjal Chairman, Managing Director & CEO of Hero Motocorp for his friendship and support of my foundation. It's a pleasure to work with Hero."

Woods also talked about the Tiger Woods Foundation before going into detail about his training. He said he took a week off after the Hero World Challenge to train and build up his body.

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"Now, I feel I've taken it to another level," he wrote. "I've started practicing again and was out with Justin the other day and had a good time. I'm continuing to progress and trying to get strong enough to where I can handle a workload again. I would love to play a full schedule in 2018. What that entails, including back-to-back events, I don't know. I just have to continue to work on my body and game and see where I pan out. I wish I knew where I was going to play and when I was going to play - it's a lot easier to prep for that - but we really don't know. This is all unchartered territory."

Woods admitted that he has a shorter swing and he can't turn as far. Despite those limitations, he said he was surprised about how explosive he was on the golf course.

The 14-time major winner said he will be at the Riviera Country Club for February's Genesis Open. He also commented on the PGA Tour's policy on viewers calling in about rules infractions, Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement and more.

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The Genesis Open is from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18. The 2018 Masters is set for April 5 at August National Golf Club.

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