Tiger Woods on comeback: 'I wouldn’t put myself out here if I didn’t think I could win'

Tiger Woods may be making his competitive comeback after seven months out, but he was explicit in his target at this week’s Genesis Invitational – he’s there to win.

“I wouldn’t put myself out here if I didn’t think I could beat these guys and win the event," Woods said on Tuesday at a pre-tournament news conference. “That’s my mentality. I’ve come off rusty situations before.

“Plus I know this golf course. Haven’t had a lot of success here. But I knew what to practise for, the shots to hit."

Woods, 47, has not played an official event since missing cut at the Open at St Andrew’s in July, but made the surprise announcement on Friday that he will be teeing it up at Riviera Country Club – the tournament his foundation hosts – from Thursday.

The 15-time major champion, who has been drawn in the opening two rounds alongside Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, has played only three tournaments in the past year as he continues his recovery from a serious leg injury sustained in a car accident in February 2021.

The single-car crash occurred the day following the Genesis Invitational, where Woods had not competed.

"If I'm playing, I'm playing to win," the American said. "Making a cut is a great thing but if I'm entering an event it is always to get a ‘W’.

"There will come a point in time when my body won't allow me to do that and it's probably sooner than later. But wrapping my head around that transition and being in an ambassador role - just playing and just trying to be with the guys out there - it is not in my DNA."

In the past 12 months, Woods finished 47th at the Masters and withdrew after three rounds of the US PGA Championship. In December, he partnered McIlroy in an exhibition match-play event against Thomas and Spieth,