“I’m ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week,” Tiger Woods tweeted last Friday and with it kickstarted feverish excitement ahead of the Genesis Invitational, the tournament he had just hosted two years ago when he crashed his SUV and suffered damage to his right leg and ankles that apparently ended his hopes of ever competing again.

But Woods, of course, is not like ordinary human beings. By the end of the year he was limping around the course with son Charlie at the PNC Championship, a silly season event for major champions and their family. And a few months after that he confounded everyone’s expectations by not only playing the Masters but carding a first round 71 to sit inside the top 10.

The revival spluttered thereafter. The hilly Augusta National took a toll on those gammy legs and he was forced to withdraw after three rounds of the PGA Championship (he had made another cut however). Ahead of the Open I followed his practice round on the Old Course and his faltering gait was grimace-inducing but he teed it up all the same. Alas, he never quite got over dumping his approach shot at the first into water yet he didn’t give up then and he hasn’t given up since.

In December he played a 12-hole exhibition match and was back at the PNC Championship. Great news but he was playing from a cart and no such free rides are permitted on the PGA Tour. So Woods will again fight both his long-term injuries (which also include multiple back problems) and the more recent plantar fasciitis (heal pain rather than what sounds like a succulent with right-wing tendencies), doing so on an undulating course that will truly test our shuffling hero.

It’s a tough assignment but because it is him it will also be box office. Get the popcorn in, Tiger’s back in the big time.

Each Way – Viktor Hovland at 33/1

There’s absolutely no doubt that the leaders in the betting all have the ability to win this week. This is a tournament that suits golfers with excellent course history who excel from the tee and have quality form on Poa Annua greens in California. You could add three ticks in those regards to each of the nine golfers the compiler has priced 22/1 and shorter, but I’d argue each of them is a little short to be backing this week. Tony Finau was one I was particularly keen on, but the compiler is especially with me in that and rates him 14/1.

So, instead, I’m making Viktor Hovland the first pick. He’s been a regular in the top 30 of the Strokes Gained Off the Tee rankings in recent seasons and ranked third at the recent AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s played at Riviera twice, finishing fifth and fourth (both times given the field a head start with level-par starts). He’s also been second at Torrey Pines (on Poa in California), 12th at Pebble Beach in the US Open (ditto) and has another six top 15 finishes on Poa beyond the state boundaries.

He’s also got a thing for Tiger Woods-hosted events. There’s a good chance this factor is pure fluke – it’s definitely a small sample – but it’s also rather intriguing: there’s the two top fives here and also, last December, he made it two wins from two starts in the Hero World Challenge.

Each Way – Cameron Young at 40/1

The rookie season of New Yorker Cameron Young was pretty special, taking in no less than seven top three finishes including third at the PGA Championship and second in the Open – both times one shot outside a play off. Two of the others are almost as intriguing: he was second here at Riviera a year ago and also second at Detroit which, like this week, had Poa Annua on the greens. He also finished first and second on Poa when competing on the second tier Korn Ferry Tour. He ranked second for SG Off the Tee last season and his form? He was second yet again just two starts ago in the Saudi International.

Each Way – Keegan Bradley at 66/1

Venturing into juicier prices I like the look of 36-year-old Keegan Bradley. He’s ranked top 30 in each of the last two full seasons for SG Off the Tee and he’s also proved himself at Riviera when finishing second in 2012 and fourth in 2015. His more recent returns have been poor but he also suffered something of a career dip. He turned that round last year with a good run of getting into contention in the spring and then he landed a fifth PGA Tour title, and first for four years, in October’s ZOZO Championship. Just a few weeks ago he was back in the hunt when second at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open, a nice warm-up for this week and he was solid last week when 20th in the Phoenix Open.