It's business as usual for Woods despite fanfare around his return

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Tiger Woods could walk nearly 100 holes this week. How will his knee hold up?

MARANA, Ariz. -- Tiger Woods thought he would be nervous. Actually, he expected to be more nervous than usual, since his stomach churns whenever he tees it up, especially at big tournaments. And Wednesday's coming-back party wasn't just big. It was Grand Canyon-size huge.

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But then something happened, a calming sensation. Despite not having participated in a competitive environment since that sensational day last June when he won the U.S. Open on one leg and took his legacy to a new level, Tiger found something familiar to grab onto, something to ease his nerves.

He rid himself of all the drama surrounding his return to the PGA TOUR and went back to basics, to the simple act that got him 65 TOUR titles and 14 majors. He took out his 3-wood, teed a ball up, aimed for the target and blasted the darn thing down the fairway.

And nothing else mattered. His opening tee shot at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship was special for us. Magical, really. For Tiger, though, it was just another shot that he hoped would lead to a birdie.

Which it did, of course.

"It really is just another shot," Tiger said of his opening drive, otherwise known as The Shot Seen 'Round the World. "Just because I've taken time off ... doesn't change the nature of how you execute a golf shot. At home or here, it doesn't matter.

"It's still a golf shot."

Make no mistake -- Tiger's 3 and 2 win over affable Aussie Brendan Jones certainly was more than a day out on the course. Golf fans rejoiced to have their hero back in action. Curiosity seekers watched for any lingering effects on his surgically repaired left knee. His fellow competitors on TOUR were keen to judge his game, to find out just how much rust the game's top player might have to shed after his eight-month layoff.

Unfortunately for them, the answer is ... not much. Tiger started with that birdie on the opening hole, then was conceded an eagle on the 574-yard par-5 second hole. Oh, he did stumble through the next five holes, carding three bogeys and keeping Jones in the match.

But Tiger, with his uncanny sense for knowing when a big shot is needed, nailed a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 eighth to whisk away any doubts that he was unraveling, as well as sending a message to Jones that there would be no upset on this day.

"Obviously, he hit a couple of shots that he wasn't happy with," Jones said. "... But he's Tiger. He does freakish stuff. He made two eagles on me, and he just really didn't waste any shots out there."

Tiger's knee wasn't an issue during his four hours on the course, even when he had to wait a long time at the 15th tee due to a backup. Fearing that his knee would stiffen up, Tiger was surprised to find that it hadn't.

Still, that doesn't mean it wasn't an issue after the round. For at least the forseeable future, Tiger will need to get used to icing down his knee and keeping it elevated to reduce the possibility of swelling.

Uncertainly regarding his recovery time -- after every round as well as every event -- is the main reason why Tiger's schedule after this week remains in flux. If he goes the full distance this week, Tiger could play more than 100 holes, depending on how long each match lasts. Recall that he played 91 to beat Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines.

And the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain, with its desert terrain, isn't exactly a walk in the park, even for the pros who are trudging up and down immaculate fairways. The real evaluation of the knee will come after another round or two or three, when Tiger has piled on the miles with little recovery time.

"It's to be expected," Tiger said when asked about any soreness.

But he'll take the soreness and learn to deal with it and overcome it. He'll take the days away from home, away from his new-born son and the family that he so dearly treasures. He'll take the demands on his time, the super-hot spotlight that follows him, the pressures placed on his shoulders to lift the entire sport during a time of global economic crisis.

He'll deal with all that because he's back to what he loves to do, was born to do. He's back striking a golf ball.

"Business as usual," Tiger noted.

It might have been business for him. But for the rest of us who celebrated his return Wednesday, there was nothing usual about it.