Hero World Challenge 2017: Time, TV schedule for Tiger Woods’ return

Finally, Tiger Woods has come backkkk to the Bahamas.

The Big Cat makes yet another return from back injury on Thursday at the Hero World Challenge. This has become a tradition of sorts. Tiger gets injured, has surgery, disappears from the game, and reemerges at his Hero World Challenge, a little silly-season event that benefits his foundation.

The tournament has no impact on the PGA Tour’s FedExCup and winning it doesn’t get you any kind of exemptions into other tournaments. It does, somewhat controversially, dole out world rankings points. But aside from that, it’s supposed to be an inconsequential offseason event. A chance to get some of the best players in the world together to benefit Tiger’s charity and put on a show for a national television audience.

And yet, with Tiger now making another return to the game here, the ratings will compete with some of the biggest tournaments of the entire season. It’s not supposed to matter, but Tiger instantly changes any tournament he enters, but especially at these highly anticipated injury comeback spots. We’ve seen it in previous years at the Hero World Challenge, including under almost identical circumstances in 2016.

The interest around Tiger creates a totally different dynamic, even at an event that’s supposed to mean nothing. While the small 18-man field is still loaded with the top current stars in the game, the only one that matters is Tiger. He will tee off at at 12:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, playing alongside Justin Thomas, his South Florida neighbor and the reigning player of the year. Woods and Thomas have developed a bit of a relationship down in Jupiter, Fla. and it should make for a fun, entertaining pairing.

Tiger’s tee time is a good 25 minutes before Golf Channel is scheduled to come on the air at 12:30 p.m. ET. We’ve been down this road before with much yelling and wailing on Twitter and once again there’s nothing to fear. You will see all of Tiger’s shots. That’s because Golf Channel’s pregame show will be up and running by 11:30 a.m. ET and that figures to track Woods’ warm-up routine and shadow all his shots on those opening few holes before the broadcast officially goes live at 12:30 p.m. So don’t panic, you should get everything you need for Tiger’s return.

Here are all your media options for the first round at Albany in the Bahamas:

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. — Golf Channel pregame show with coverage of Tiger’s start

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. — Golf Channel

Replayed from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. ET.

11:30 to 4:30 p.m. — Golf Channel simulcast stream, fuboTV

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)