Would a Tiger win be the greatest comeback in the history of sport?

Tiger Woods stopped short of proclaiming it would be the greatest comeback in the history of sport, but we'll do it for him: how could anything top the world's most recognisable athlete winning a fifth US Masters after what he's been through?

Comeback tour: Tiger Woods during a practice round at Augusta.
Photo: AP

Two years ago at the traditional US Masters dinner for previous champions, Woods and Jack Nicklaus helped the late Arnold Palmer to his seat as his health began to fail him. Last year, Woods could barely sit in his own chair.

He looked out the glass, to what golfers acknowledge is heaven on earth, and wondered if he would ever get another shot, as back surgery to fuse a disc beckoned.

He has laid in bed and not moved. He has laid on the ground and not moved. He has taken his son to the range and watched him swing, unable to swing on his own. Back surgery after back surgery after back surgery - and finally a solution.

Ten years after the last of his 14 majors, here he is.

"In hindsight, it was a big pipe dream [to play the US Masters again]," Woods said on the eve of his first Augusta National appearance in three years.

"My back was fried ... I was trying; whether it was cortisone shots, epidurals, anything to take away the pain so maybe I might be able to withstand a week.

"Last year to feel so uncomfortable just sitting [at the dinner], because my nerve was on fire, it was going down my leg and it was just burning [was tough to take]."

Woods hasn't won anything since his return, but he has looked like winning something in the past couple of months. That's all that has been needed to jolt a tournament rarely short on electricity around these hallowed grounds.

Fellow players watched him on the range this week and can't fathom how a man with a fused back can swing a club faster than he could at his pomp.

"The reason why I say I'm a walking miracle is that I don't know of anyone who has had a lower back fusion that can swing the club as fast as I can swing it," Woods said. "That's incredible. Some guys have said, 'yeah, I need to fuse my back so I can hit it harder'. No, you don't want to go through that.

"I thought prior to the fusion surgery that that's pretty much it. I'll have a nice, comfortable, and great life, but I'll never be able to swing the club like I used to speed‑wise, there's just no way.

"It is a miracle. I went from a person that's been ‑ who really had a hard time getting up, walking around, sitting down, anything, to now swinging the club [faster]."

They say a leopard never changes its spots, but a tiger can change its stripes. Physically, Woods may be different, but perhaps that's the least impressive change in his make-up as he talked openly to the media at length.

Asked a question that raised the analysis of his previous infidelities as harsh, Woods grinned and responded, "I'm looking forward to the Masters this week".

He bumped fists with Phil Mickelson as they played together during a practice round on Wednesday (AEST). The golfing world found it hard to believe the men, who seemingly couldn't stand each other at the height of their powers, were suddenly best buddies, a relationship repaired over recent Ryder Cup campaigns.

Nobody's benefited from what he's done for the game of golf more than I have
Phil Mickelson

"I think that nobody respects and appreciates what he's done for the game more because nobody's benefited from what he's done for the game of golf more than I have," Mickelson said. "I've always had that appreciation and respect for him. To see him back out playing is incredible."

Added Woods: "We're at the tail end of our careers, we both know that. He's 47, I believe, and I'm 42, and we have had a great 20‑year battle, hopefully we'll have a few more, but we understand where we are in the game now versus where we were in our early 20s, battling for who is going to be No.1, and that was then and certainly this is now."

And now for the greatest comeback in the history of sport.