Tiger Woods return to competitive golf at the Safeway Open this week after 14 months out with injuries is causing a huge stir in America. Woods has had to undergo surgery on his back three times since his last tournament, the Wyndham Championship in August last year. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just £6.99. No contract. But he is now fit to play at the Napa event and could - if reports from California are true - be paired with his old rival and friend Phil Mickelson. The Golf Channels Damon Hack said: Tigers return is huge. We just did two hours on Morning Drive talking about Tiger. Tiger Woods most recent competitive round was at Sedgefield on August 23, 2015 I know several reporters who normally would be covering American Football this week but theyre taking a different turn - theyre going out to Napa, California to cover Tiger Woods return after over a year.A lot of us are anxious to see what he has at age 40, with all these back surgeries and knee surgeries, his Achilles…hes been such a dominant player but that dominant play has been absent for the last three years.There is a lot of intrigue here in the US in terms of what we expect to see. We just dont really know. Woods was a vice-captain of the victorious USA Ryder Cup team and Hack says that the former world No 1 did not look 100 per cent fit.A lot of our Golf Channel folk were out at Hazeltine last week for the Ryder Cup and they said he looked a little bit stiff, he said. Woods and captain Davis Love III of the United States talk at the Ryder Cup He looked strong but he wasnt necessarily moving very well. Thats going to be the big question. At the age of 40 can he stand the rigours of PGA Tour life…hitting the balls he needs to, practising, travelling, playing?Hack believes Woods will measure success in Napa purely in terms of his physical state at the end of it.If he can get out of Napa without having to go off in a golf cart, without any chipping woes, that would be a huge step, he said. Woods is set to play in the Safeway Open But he has to look at this as a first step in a long process. Too many people expect him to be a top 10-type of player this weekend, or to win the tournament. This is a toe into the swimming pool.If he can walk away from the Safeway Open, either on Friday or Sunday, under his own power and in good health, thats a successful week. You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Woods confirms PGA return Tigers injury timeline Rory pleased by Woods return Golf live on Sky Sports 4 Sneakers Uk Online Shop . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Wholesale Sneakers Uk . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. http://www.wholesalesneakersuk.com/. More importantly, he is trying to show his young teammates the Colorado are still post-season contenders. He hopes winning a series at home was a fresh start. Sneakers Clearance Uk . - Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon has voluntarily checked into a treatment facility and seems to be doing well. Cheapest Sneakers Uk .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances.Thomas Vanek broke out of his scoring slump with the Montreal Canadiens in a big way. The Habs hope their recently-acquired winger can stay hot on Thursday night in a home matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Catch the action on TSN Habs starting at 7:30pm et/ 4:30pm pt. The Canadiens acquired Vanek from the New York Islanders prior to the trade deadline in an effort to upgrade their offense for a playoff push. However, Vanek failed to score a goal in his first five games with Montreal, held to just a single assist. The two-time 40-goal scorer finally broke out in Tuesdays big 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, netting a hat trick to spoil Patrick Roys return to Montreal. Roy made his first appearance in Montreal as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and received a warm reception early in the game before Vanek stole the show. "It was unbelievable," Vanek said of his three-goal night. "This place is electric." Brandon Prust had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row. Travis Moen and Dale Weise also lit the lamp, while Carey Price made 25 saves. Prust will sit out tonights contest with an upper-body injury after skating for only 10 minutes at Thursdays morning skate. Ryan White draws into the lineup in his place. Montreals current win streak has it tied for second place with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. That is three ahead of the fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Columbus is also pushing for a plaayoff bid as it sits two points behind the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.dddddddddddd The Blue Jackets are also even with the Washington Capitals with 76 points, but have two games in hand to hold the current tiebreaker for the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets were riding a seven-game point streak going into Tuesdays home matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes and fell in defeat 3-1. Columbus was nearly shut out before Boone Jenner lit the lamp with 50 seconds to go, deflecting Ryan Johansens shot past Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin. Still, the Blue Jackets fell to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up three goals on 20 shots through two periods, while Curtis McElhinney did not face a shot in the third period during his relief appearance. Columbus outshot Carolina 19-0 in the third period. "We attempted 79 (shots) -- 47 were on net," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It seemed like we had some quality chances. We hit a couple posts. We had our opportunities." The Blue Jackets activated forward Jared Boll from injured reserve on Wednesday. He had missed the past 45 games due to a torn ankle tendon suffered in late November. The 27-year-old scored one goal and racked up 38 penalty minutes in 21 games before suffering the injury. The Blue Jackets have lost both of their previous meetings with the Canadiens this season, including a 5-3 loss in Montreal on Oct. 17. ' ' '