Tiger looks to repeat old story at Torrey

San Diego course has been site of some of Woods' finest moments

Tiger Woods was quick to set the record straight, with a smile.

As he gets ready to embark on his 21st season on the PGA Tour, a reporter mentioned to Woods that he had won at Torrey Pines "seven or eight times" and asked how much his comfort level was a factor in deciding where to start his year.

"Eight times," Woods replied. "And one as a junior, so it's technically nine. So I like this place ."

Tiger Woods opens his 21st season on the PGA Tour by competing in this week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. He has notched nine victories on the course, including one as an amateur. The former world No 1, on the comeback trail following a 15-month injury layoff, goes into the tournament ranked No 663. AP File

The comebacking Woods first dipped his toes in the water eight weeks ago in the Bahamas at an unofficial event with an 18-man field and no cut. Expectations were low, and so was the stress.

Still, it was his first competition since a pair of back surgeries kept him out of golf for 15 months. It was an important first step.

This week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines is sure to invite greater scrutiny.

There is no other golf course on the PGA Tour that Woods knows better or is more comfortable playing.

Yes, he also won eight times at Bay Hill and Firestone. Bay Hill was always feast or famine for Woods, where even during his peak years he failed to finish inside the top 20 on five occasions.

What gives Torrey Pines the edge over Firestone is that during an 11-year stretch, Tiger never finished more than four shots behind the winner against a 156-man field.

One of those was a US Open on a left knee that was surgically rebuilt a week later.

While positive memories are powerful for golfers, they can be a double-edged sword for a 41-year-old on the mend, especially one whose most recent memories are a reminder of how he began a rapid slide from the top of the world ranking.

The 18th hole at Torrey Pines will forever be remembered for Woods making a 12-foot birdie to force a playoff in the 2008 US Open, which he won the next day for his 14th major.

The last time Woods played the hole in competition was in 2014. He came up well short from 254 yards and into the water, took a drop, flew the green into a plugged bunker lie and made double bogey on his way to missing the cut.

Woods didn't play the South Course in 2015 because he withdrew after 11 holes of the opening round on the North Course when his back tightened up during fog delays

Those are his two most recent trips to the Farmers Insurance Open.

He undoubtedly will lean more on his body of work at Torrey, which is unparalleled.

Woods' first pro victory at the Pines came in 1999, when he made the cut with two shots to spare and shot 62-65 on the weekend for a two-shot victory.

He won five straight times at Torrey in four years, twice in 2008.

At the PGA Tour event that year, Woods opened with a 67 on the South Course and a caddie who stayed behind to watch him finish on the 18th said: "He just won two tournaments with one round."

Sure enough, Woods won by eight shots that week, then returned in June and won the US Open despite not having walked 18 holes from the Masters until the opening round at Torrey.

Here's another way to look at Tiger's record: His performance at Torrey Pines alone is better than the PGA Tour careers of every player in the field except for Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Padraig Harrington (six victories, but three majors).

But what does that history matter?

This is a different day for Woods, a time when hopes are higher than expectations.

Woods is so enthusiastic about being healthy enough to compete that he has scheduled four tournaments over the next five weeks, which will take him from San Diego to Dubai to Los Angeles to South Florida.

He is currently ranked No 663 in the world, a product of having played just 12 times in the past 24 months.

"I think he's excited," said Jason Day. "Who wouldn't be excited to play after 17 months off?"

On a soft golf course that still had puddles in the fairway on Tuesday because of the rain, Woods is playing the opening two rounds with Day and Dustin Johnson, two of the best in the world.

Day has been at No 1 since March. Johnson is the US Open champ with one of the most powerful swings in golf.

Woods said if his back feels good, then he can prepare. And if he can prepare, he says he can compete.

That's where he is.

However, even at Torrey Pines, it figures to take more than a week to judge how far he has to go.