Tiger Woods takes inspiration from Roger Federer as he attempts latest comeback

Watching his fellow aging jock Roger Federer win his 18th Grand Slam title (the most important number in pro golf) at the Australian Open Sunday night after returning from his own injury struck a chord with Tiger Woods, 41 and some six years older than the Swiss tennis star. Tiger, who is playing for the second straight week in Dubai, even sounded as if he were describing himself in his praise of his friend Fed.

“For him to come back, after having to take that much time off, and for him to get the timing — that’s the hardest part,” observed Woods. “He rehabbed properly and you can tell how fast he’s moving. He’s shortened up points, changed his strategy around a little bit. Didn’t hang around the baseline as long.

“I mean, as you get older, you change your game and you do things slightly differently, and he did that,” Woods concluded. “You do it differently. If you look at the list of guys who shot below 60, you realize Jim Furyk’s on there twice. He averages 270 off the tee, shoot two rounds under 60. So it can be done different ways.”

And that’s what Tiger, who considered his first start back at Torrey Pines a success because he was able to walk and play pain free for 36 holes, says he expects to do. Tiger’s back will have to hold up for at least 72 holes if the goal remains to win — and Woods has always insisted it is.

If Tiger had played his first round Thursday at Torrey Pines at even par as he did his second, and final, one, the returning superstar would have made the cut and, who knows, possibly have been in contention for his first PGA Tour win since 2013.

As it was, though, Woods in his first official tour event in 17 months was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard after two days on a course where he had tallied a record eight wins. His early exit from the Farmers Insurance Open was hardly surprising, considering the long layoff multiple back surgeries forced on the former world No. 1, and it did not dampen Woods’ competitive drive in the least.

”If I’m teeing it up, that’s the goal. The goal is to win it,” Woods, singing a familiar refrain, crooned Wednesday from the Dubai Desert Classic, where the currently 666th-ranked golfer will put his surgically repaired back and rusty game to the test for the second week in a row.

The Emirates Golf Club is certainly a venue on which Woods has excelled over the years.

But things — like his much-revamped golf swing — have changed since 2008, when he earned his second of two Ws in Dubai. His powerful motion was once the envy of all who ever swung a club but Tiger expressed no worries about the aesthetics of his current game. The only concern for Woods was that he could hit the ball without wincing in pain.

“Whether my swing looks classic, rhythmical or it may look unorthodox, I don’t care,” Woods said. “As long as I don’t feel that nerve pain. Anyone in here who has ever had nerve pain in their back or anywhere in their spine, it’s like hitting your funny bone a thousand times a day. It’s just not fun. I would much rather not have to go through that again.”

For sure, Woods had no illusions about how far he could smack the ball off the tee — especially after watching Dustin Johnson blast drive after drive Thursday and Friday in San Diego.

“I’m not going to be hitting balls like some of these guys 340 out there,” he said, still in awe of DJ’s prodigious length. “I watched Dustin carry a ball last week when it was cold, wet and damp and carried it 335.”

”Over the course of my career, I have been less successful at winning golf tournaments than winning tournaments but the goal is to win and that doesn’t change. Whether I’m injured, coming off an injury or I’m playing well or I’m playing poorly, if I’m in the event, it’s to win the event,” said Woods.

“I just like to put myself in contention as many times as I possibly can to get those wins,” Tiger said, “and this is a good week to start off doing that.”

With the Masters some nine weeks away, we second that.