Tiger Woods to make his return at Hero World Challenge next month

The 40-year-old 14-time major winner said in a statement that he is now ready to host and play in his Dec 1-4 tournament at Albany in the Bahamas. "I am excited to make my return at the Hero World Challenge at Albany and play in this terrific tournament," Woods said.

Despite struggling to regain his old mojo, Woods is hopeful of playing in the Bahamas.The 18-player Hero World Challenge is owned by his charity foundation. Woods, who has won the tournament five times, made a similar return from injury at the event in 2014.

In a television interview, Woods said that his body has shown improvement, although he is yet to regain full fitness.

"I'm not quite there, where I feel like I can shoot 63s and 64s in tournaments," Woods said. "I'm shooting the low rounds at home. But I just don't quite feel quite as ready to shoot those type scores under tournament conditions."

With 79 US PGA titles, Woods is just three shy of Sam Snead’s all-time record.  Woods is four short of the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.