When Tiger Woods tees off in the first round of the U.S. Open tomorrow it will be exactly 60 days since he last played competitively.

At that event, the Masters, all the talk beforehand was how could he possibly lose. Here, at Torrey Pines, it is how can he possibly win, following such a long leave of absence caused by the latest surgery on his troublesome left knee.

Walk on the wild side: Tiger Woods and amateur Jordan Cox stride out, hoping to tame the challenging Torrey Pines course

Woods laid out the scale of his task yesterday, when he came up with the jaw-dropping revelation that he had not walked 18 holes since the operation in April.

How far from a full recovery must he still be that he will not even risk walking 18 holes in the days leading up to the opening round?

Naturally, a typically guarded Woods was not about to give a straight answer to that one. He admitted it was sore when he played nine holes on Sunday, Monday and yesterday and that it had to be iced the moment he came off the course.

But his answers simply begged more questions, not only as to how it will hold up during this tournament but to what extent it threatens his long-term dreams.

Woods said he would have played this week regardless, but it is hard to believe he would have teed it up if this hadn't been a major.

The world No 1 did admit his recovery had not gone as he wished. Plan A was to play the Memorial a fortnight ago, to get 'the adrenaline flowing'.

Now he will have to do that on perhaps the hardest course the pros will face all year.

The last time Woods did not play between the Masters and the U.S. Open was two years ago, with the result that he failed to make the weekend for the only time in a major championship as a pro.

That was under different circumstances, mind, following the death of his father, Earl. As Woods said, it was a world away mentally from this situation.

'People go back to work following the death of a parent to take their mind off it,' he said. 'But when I went back to work it simply emphasised that the man who taught me the game wasn't there anymore. This time, I can't wait to get back and mix it with the guys. I've missed the competition.'

He added: 'One thing I do know from that earlier experience is that I can't afford four holes or so to get back into the flow of playing. I need to get the juices flowing from the first hole.'

One thing that might possibly help in that regard is the man standing next to him on the first tee, Phil Mickelson, the only player who could present a remotely credible case to be considered a rival.

The pair played together in the first two rounds of the U.S. PGA Championship two years ago, in accordance with that tournament's recent tradition of grouping together the winners of the year's first three majors.

This, however, is the first time that they have been grouped together deliberately. 'One thing we learned the last time was that there are an awful lot of distractions,' said Woods.

'Other than that, you don't take a lot of notice of who you are playing with in a major. You're so focused on what you have to do.'

Those who still fancy his chances this week will take encouragement from what happened last time.

Following his operation in mid-December 2002, he won his first tournament back six weeks later - at Torrey Pines.

What had Woods done during his time away from the game? 'I don't think I could have got through it if my daughter Sam hadn't been there,' he said.

'She was a wonderful distraction. Watching her grow and learning to walk and run was the greatest feeling in the world.'

The last time the U.S. Open was held in California he experienced the greatest feeling he has had on a golf course, as he won by a staggering 15 shots at Pebble Beach in 2000. If he defies all logic to win here, it would surely top it.