Tiger Woods feels good ahead of his return to competitive action at this weekend's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The 35-year-old has missed the last two majors through injury and is now down to 28th in the world rankings.
But after getting the all clear from doctors and hitting nine practice holes at Firestone, he says he feels healthier than he has for years.
"I'm good to go," he said. "The docs gave me the clearance, so here I am. I started practising a couple of weeks ago, which was nice and I was close to playing last week, but again the doctors advised me that maybe I should take another week.
"I started pushing it pretty hard and I feel good now. The great thing is I don't feel a thing - it feels solid, it feels stable, no pain," he added.
Woods stood by his decision to end his 12-year partnership with caddie Steve Williams, saying: "I felt it was time for a change."
"He is a hell of a guy and has helped my career but I think I've helped his as well," he added.
The former world number one will partner new Open champion
Darren Clarke in the first round of the World Golf Championships and the Ulsterman is confident his "good friend" will do well on his comeback.
Few observers expect the seven-time winner to challenge this week, but Clarke suggested his previous successes at the event could make him a contender.
"It'll be very interesting the first two rounds. And knowing Tiger like I do, I don't think he would come back to play unless he was ready to come back and play, both physically and mentally and ready for the challenge again," the Open champion said. "I think Tiger Woods could be a hard man to beat this week because of his record around this golf course."
Following his first major win at the age of 42 last month, Clarke has been named the European Tour's golfer of the month for July.
"It's always good to win a golfer of the month award, but this one is special because I won it on the back of winning the Open," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Jamie Donaldson is set to play his first major championship in America after he was offered a place.
The Welshman will play the final major of the year when it begins on August 11th and he could hardly contain his delight.
"Buzzing just got in the USPGA, yippeeeeee!" he wrote on Twitter.
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