Henrik Stenson’s bizarre rib injury may keep him out of Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge

Tiger Woods says he’s hitting the ball as far as ever as he prepares for his comeback later this month after a fourth back surgery, but one of the heavy hitters expected to play at the Hero World Challenge may take the tourney host’s place on the disabled list.

Henrik Stenson acknowledged after a T35 finish at last week’s Turkish Airlines Open that he may have incurred a rib injury in one of those bizarre promo antics that WGC-HSBC Champions organizers force grown men to participate in ahead of the actual golf tournament.

”I’m not superman even though certain people thought I was superman,” Stenson told Golf Channel.com’s Rex Hoggard.

Stenson likely referred to the stunt that involved caped players hitched to harnesses and lifted into the air like the Man of Steel. Except the 2016 British Open champion isn’t faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and he received a bone bruise for his troubles.

That contusion threatens to derail the rest of Stenson’s Race to Dubai appearances as well as his planned start in the Bahamas.

“I was not 100 percent last week, but I guess the travel and the way things progressed it just got worse,” Stenson told Hoggard. “It’s not been good, and obviously I haven’t been able to do myself justice in terms of the golf.”

Should Stenson skip the Hero, he’ll join Woods’ protege Jason Day and fellow Aussie Marc Leishman, who last week withdrew from the no-cut, 18-player field that includes world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and reigning FedEx Cup winner Justin Thomas. Stenson and Kevin Chappell were tapped to replace Day, who chose to be with his wife, Ellie, who’s due to give birth to the couple’s third child in June, and Leishman, who will instead go home to compete in the Australian PGA Championship.

As for Woods, the returning superstar said in a recent interview that he has surprised himself with the distances he was achieving in practice sessions.

“I can’t believe how far I’m hitting the golf ball,” a particularly candid Woods told Geno Auriemma on the UConn women’s basketball coach’s podcast.

”I’m back to hitting it my full numbers [yardages] and not really trying to do that,” Woods said. “I didn’t realize how much I had dropped off because of the pain in my back and from me going at it and hitting it normal just because I just lived it from day to day and I really couldn’t tell the difference. But now I can tell the difference.”

Ahead of his first competitive round since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic in February, Woods has been Zelig-like, posting videos of his progress …

… watching the Dodgers in the World Series …

… And, most recently, cheering on his beloved Oakland NFLers.

And with that, sports fans, it’s T-minus 24 days until Tiger hits the tee at Albany. But who’s counting?