Tiger Woods will make his return to competitive golf this week at the Hero World Challenge.

• Related: ‘I had to do it’ – Collin Morikawa explains decision to split with coach of 18 years

Expectations on how quickly Tiger will be able to compete with the best in the world after ankle surgery and other health issues are relatively low, but his longtime friend, Notah Begay III thinks he will return to form.

While speaking with Damon Hack and George Savaricas on “Golf Today”, Begay III said “I expect him to win.”

“I expect him to win. I mean, I don’t think in our discussions, I don’t think there was any doubt that he was going to have that ability to compete and when Tiger gets close and of course it’s going to depend on the venue, there has to be a lot more conditions pointing in his favor than when he was at his prime.

“When he was at his prime, he could win at any venue, at any time, at basically any moment. Now it’s got to be situations where the temperature is warmer, maybe not as hilly as a venue. But still, if it’s a demanding, maybe second shot golf course I think he’s going to hit more fairways because he’s going to swinging a little bit slower, but also it has to be the right fit for him to knock off number 83.”

“I expect him to win.” – Notah Begay III has no doubt in Tiger’s ability to still compete. He joins @damonhackGC and @GeorgeSavaricas on #GolfToday. pic.twitter.com/jB1sACZbEP

— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) November 29, 2023

Woods will tee off at 11:52 E.T. alongside Justin Thomas on Thursday.

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With Tiger Woods making his return to competitive golf on Thursday at the Hero World Challenge, the “GOAT” (greatest of all time, for the layperson) debate has resurfaced.

• Related: ‘I had to do it’ – Collin Morikawa explains decision to split with coach of 18 years

This week, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee was interviewed on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio by former PGA Tour player Rocco Mediate and gave his opinion on the matter.

“That period from ’99 to 2002, as miraculous as it was, he won 34% of the time. I think undervalued, and it is where you run into him, in 2006 to 2009. In that period of time, Rocco, he won 46% of the tournaments he played in.”

“He won 25 of 54 and the scoring average over four years, think about this. Four years on the PGA Tour his scoring average was 67.9. That’s adjusted, it’s important to adjust it because he’s mostly playing in the toughest tournaments with the best fields.”

Chamblee continued, arguing that Jack Nicklaus wasn’t quite as dominant at his peak despite having the overall better career.

“Jack’s level of dominance, his best years were ’65 and ’73. He was three-quarters of a shot better than the next-best player in scoring average.

“Jack could have won the Vardon Trophy nine times but never played enough rounds to officially get it. So, you’re talking about somebody who was twice as dominant as the game’s greatest player. So, whenever I get that question you know, ‘who was better, Tiger or Jack?’ I always say, ‘well, Jack had the better career, Tiger was more dominant – he played the better golf.”

"Jack had the better career…Tiger was more dominant."

As @TigerWoods returns at the Hero World Challenge, Brandel Chamblee joins Rocco Mediate to answer the question: Tiger or Jack?

Listen to the Rocco Hour Tuesdays at 6 ET on SiriusXM 92.@chambleebrandel | @RoccoMediate pic.twitter.com/U247TGw2vh

— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) November 29, 2023

Although it would be a minor miracle after all of his medical issues, Woods still has a chance to add to his legacy with more starts over the next handful of years.

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Collin Morikawa has parted ways with his longtime coach. Rick Sessinghaus, who he had worked with for over 18 years.

The 26-year-old revealed the news on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge, sharing with reporters that the split took place just before this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.

“Right before the Ryder Cup, I let go of my long-time coach, Rick Sessinghaus for — we’ve been working for just over 18 years, which wasn’t easy,” Morikawa shared for the first time publicly on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge, a 20-man unofficial event held at the Albany Club. “He’s more than just a coach, he’s one of my really good friends. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to, someone that’s been there for every step of my life essentially, not just in golf but just kind of living life, right?

“It wasn’t easy, and sometimes things happen like that. But 18 years is a long time. Not many relationships that I can say with a lot of people that I’ve had relationships for 18 years, and real relationships where I’m talking to them every week, right? So that wasn’t easy at all.”

As for the reasoning behind the decision, Morikawa stated that “what I saw kind of over the past two years wasn’t to my expectations.”

“I had to do it, I just felt like it was time to make a change at some point. What I saw kind of over the past two years wasn’t to my expectations and standards and goals what I wanted,” 

Morikawa is now working with swing coach Mark Blackburn, who also coaches Max Homa and Justin Rose. In his first event working with Blackburn, Morikawa won the Zozo Championship.

“Obviously, there’s no better way to start, but this is just the tip of the iceberg for us to kind of dig in and really know what we’re going to do,” said Morikawa.

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