Tiger Woods on Friday celebrated his 41st birthday, the 14-time major winner having already made a comeback from a 466-day back surgery layoff with hopes of recapturing success.
Woods was inconsistent over 72 holes at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-man Bahamas event in early December to benefit his charity foundation, and fan interest remains high, even though he has only showed glimpses of the form that made him a must-see attraction for years.
While saying he still has designs on the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, Woods would be bucking the odds to catch his boyhood idol.
Old Tom Morris won The Open three times at 41 or older in the 1860s and remains the lone three-time major winner beyond his 41st birthday.
Nicklaus became the oldest Masters winner by taking his last green jacket in 1986, while Julius Boros is the oldest major winner, taking the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48.
Boros, Harry Vardon and Woods’ pal Mark O’Meara each won two majors after turning 41.
The Open has produced three champions in the past six years who were 41 or older, with Swede Henrik Stenson at 40 when he took the Claret Jug last year.
Woods has said he would play at Riviera next month at another event hosted by his foundation, although he did not rule out another appearance earlier this year or give any hint about other tune-up plans for the Masters in April.
Woods last won a major title at the 2008 US Open and last won any title at the 2013 World Golf Championships event in Akron, Ohio, as he tries to win three more career PGA titles to match the record 82 won by Sam Snead.
In addition to finding his form, Woods will this year face a new generation of players, such as top-ranked Australian Jason Day, two-time major champion Jordan Spieth, rising Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, a four-time major winner needing only a Masters green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam.
“Hoping StanfordFball gives me a win for my birthday,” Woods said on Twitter on Friday, before his college’s football team, the Stanford Cardinal, kicked off against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl.
Woods got his wish, as Stanford edged the Tar Heels 25-23.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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