Tiger Woods has warned that his recovery is ahead of schedule as he goes into the final warm-up event for the Players Championship this week.
Making his first appearance since the Masters, Woods headlines a strong field for the Quail Hollow Championship in North Carolina as the likes of Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington all put the finishing touches to their preparations for Sawgrass.
And Woods, who is still getting back into top shape after almost a year out following knee surgery, believes he is starting to find his swing again.
"I'm ahead (of schedule)," he said. "I didn't think I'd be playing pain-free in my knee, just because of what I went through and all the rehab. It wasn't fun.
"It was long days of just not feeling very good at all, and to come out here and do whatever I wanted to do, hit shots however I wanted to hit them and not have to worry about it, I'm certainly ahead of schedule."
Woods won this event in 2007, but was unable to defend his title last year as he began his long stint on the sidelines.
Returning to one of his favourite courses allows him to put the injury behind him.
"I'm just now starting to get my pop back," he said. "I'm starting to get my speed back, and that's obviously going to take a little time.
"I've been away from the game for such a long time, and I haven't been able to hit as many balls. So I'm just now starting to get my speed back, which is great."
The strong field will make it difficult for Woods to reclaim his old title, with Mickelson - who beat Woods by a single shot at the Masters - in particular enjoying a strong record on this course.
Last year, Anthony Kim became the youngest winner in PGA Tour history as he stormed to a five-stroke victory here at the age of 22, and he has already declared this is his favourite course on the tour.
However, the quality of the field will make a repeat victory a tall order.
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