US OpenHis great protector by his side, Tiger Woods, his practice round complete, walked down the row of players firing balls to the back end of the range. Steve Williams carried a net bucket full of golf balls. When a free space was found on the packed range, the world's number one golfer assumed his place and proceeded to do what he does best, to hit golf balls with unerring accuracy. Normal practice had resumed. He was back.

Just over an hour later, Woods, who hasn't played a tournament since the US Masters nine weeks ago, and who in the interim has lost his father, Earl, to cancer, made his way to the media centre to face the world's press. Normally, on days like this, it is hard to get a seat in the room. This time, it was hard to find a place in which to stand. Everyone wanted to be there, to breath the same air as a sporting icon and to discover his human frailties.

"I'm here to compete and play and try to win this championship. I know that dad would still want me to go out there and grind it and give it my best, and that's what I always do. . . I'm here to win, and all my energy is going towards that," said Woods, who went "over 30 days" without touching a golf club after Augusta, while his father fought to stay alive, and subsequently stayed away from competition until now as he came to terms with the death.

He explained: "I really had no desire to get back to the game of golf. I think one of the hardest things for me in all honesty was to get back to the game of golf because a lot of my memories, great memories, that I have with my dad are at the golf course. From that standpoint, it was certainly a lot more difficult than I had expected."

Some players would re-emerge from such a lay-off with more rust than an old bicycle. Yet, his past would indicate he is not one of those affected by long layoffs. In December of 2002, he underwent surgery on his left knee during which fluid on the outside and inside of the anterior cruciate ligament was removed and several benign cysts removed. He missed the first five tournaments of the season, but returned for the Buick Invitational and won. It was one of five titles he claimed that year.

This past winter, Woods took a longer than usual break so he could spend more time with his father and didn't re-emerge onto the tour until the Buick Invitational. You've guessed it, he won there too. So, there's no concern, certainly not from the player, that he will lack any tournament sharpness here at Winged Foot.

"I've had plenty of time to get ready. It's just one of those things where it is your preparation, your practice, your attention to detail. That's something I've learned, and done very well, I think, in the past."

In fact, Woods revealed at yesterday's sometimes emotional press conference that his father had often wondered why he played so much tournament golf and encouraged him to take longer breaks away from competition. Given that Woods, who chooses his itinerary meticulously and to suit himself, played only 21 times last season, while someone like Vijay Singh played 30 times, that may seem a little strange observation on the elder Woods's part. But Tiger explained: "Dad was always adamant that whenever you're ready to play, play. If you're not ready, don't play. He was always adamant through my entire career as a golfer that I should take more time off. So, for this stretch, I think he certainly would have approved."