Friends Say Tiger Looks Better Than Ever

Tiger Woods is coming. The when and where are still to be determined, but the propaganda machine is, with each passing day, gearing up in anticipation of the inevitable.

Usually, when athletes return from an eight-month layoff brought on by serious injury, the expectations are dampened. In Tiger's case, it's just the opposite. Part of me thinks it's all some elaborate PR plan to intimidate his opponents even before he tees it up. But there's also the very real possibility that Woods is better now than ever because that seems like something he'd do. Just to be spiteful.

We'll find out soon enough, but in the meantime, best bud John Cook sounds more impressed by Woods now than ever.

"Tiger's going at it full go, full shots, full drivers," said ... Cook, who played with Woods on three consecutive days at Isleworth Country Club in suburban Orlando last week. "That includes one of those, `I'm going to hit this one as hard as I can hit it,' one of those `I'm going to drive it onto the 16th green at Doral swings." ...

"I think his game is unbelievable, as good as I've ever seen it, but that being said it's still a matter of getting into playing shape," Cook said. "It's still a matter of walking 72 holes and playing when it really, really counts. It's a matter of getting a schedule, getting up for an 8:30 tee time, playing 18 holes, shooting a score, coming back out and practicing and continuing to do it while seeing how your body holds up."

If Tiger's biggest concern is "walking 72 holes" I'll conservatively put the chances that he comes back and immediately dominates at 98 percent. Wood's other BFF, Mark O'Meara, adds this:

"I think the break is the best thing that could have happened to him ... It gave him eight months away from the game, a chance to connect with his daughter [Sam] and see the birth of his son. ... He handles the press just great, but being out of the public eye might not be a bad thing for him. He's hungry. I think he will come back better than ever."

And that's the thing: where some athletes might get complacent, Tiger uses his time away from the game to get better. That's the perception, anyway -- and maybe that's all part of the plan.