Tiger Woods, Will Zalatoris -- Storylines to watch at Hero World Challenge - ESPN

NASSAU, Bahamas — The PGA Tour's regular season might be over, but men's golf silly season is underway, starting with this week's Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas.

The non-official event brings 20 of the tour's best players together — including perhaps the greatest of all, Tiger Woods, who will be playing for the first time in more than seven months.

«My game feels rusty; I haven't played in a while,» Woods said during a news conference Tuesday. «I had my subtalar fused. I'm excited to compete and play, and I'm just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven't done it in a while.»

Here are some of the top storylines to watch in the Hero World Challenge, in which reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland is the two-time reigning champion:

Woods, the tournament host, will tee it up for the first time since he withdrew from the weather-delayed third round of the Masters in April. Woods played nine holes in the event's 18-hole pro-am Wednesday and isn't concerned about walking 81 holes over five days.

Woods, who turns 48 next month, said he no longer has severe pain in his right ankle and foot after he underwent fusion surgery less than eight months ago to address post-traumatic arthritis he suffered because of a car wreck in February 2021.

When Woods was asked Tuesday whether he believes he can still win tournaments, he said, «Absolutely.»

«I'm very pumped to have Tiger back this week,» Justin Thomas said. «I think we all are. I know he misses hanging out with us, and the competitor he is, he doesn't enjoy not being able to get out here and compete. This is great.»

Will Zalatoris said Woods' latest comeback continues to amaze him.

«It's ridiculous,» Zalatoris said. «There's no other way