Ominous words from Woods

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The world number one tees off at 7.02pm UK time as defending champion in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his first tournament since winning the US Open last June and then undergoing the season-ending surgery on his left knee.

"I feel great. I didn't think it would feel this good before the surgery or even just after the surgery because I hadn't known what it's like to feel this way," Woods said. "It's been so long. So to have it feel this healthy and this solid and secure, man, it's a great feeling."

Of the rehab he went through on the knee, Woods added: "Don't go through it. It is not a lot of fun.

"The first few months are pretty tough. You're in quite a bit of pain, and it was just a lack of strength, mobility, just a lot of different things that you take for granted. That's all taken away from you.

"You start feeling pretty normal probably around five months, start feeling pretty good. But still, five months is a very long time. The six, seven-month mark you start feeling really good, and here I am at eight months out."

Woods, who will play Australia's Brendan Jones in the first round, had bad news for his rivals when he said that in addition to a more stable left leg in his swing there were other aspects of his game that have improved following surgery.

"My short game has gotten a little bit better," Woods said. "I've got more shots than I did before, just because I've spent so much time on it, chipping and all the different shots around the greens.

"Some of the shots I had forgotten that I had over the years, I kind of remembered how to hit them again, which was kind of nice."