Tiger Woods says he’s eager to play some real golf

A few months’ rest seems to have done Tiger Woods a world of good.

Woods and his troublesome back are scheduled to return to competitive golf later this week at the Hero World Challenge, which benefits Woods’ charity foundation.

“I feel great,” he told SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “I feel really, really good. It’s great to be back out here competing again.”

The former No. 1 golfer underwent back surgery in the spring, attempted a comeback and then pulled himself off the PGA Tour in August.

“I can finally log in the time, log in the minutes, and really delve into a good practice session and really get a lot out of it,” he said. “And that’s something that I hadn’t been able to do in quite some time.”

The 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge will include Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Jordan Spieth, who is coming off a victory at last weekend’s Australian Open.