Reborn and refocused, Tiger Woods is a one-man tidal wave set to lift the Ryder Cup to new heights

It’s hard to overstate just how much Woods’ spectacular comeback has gilded this weekend’s competition

It was a puffy and slightly weary Tiger Woods who stepped off the plane at Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday lunchtime, the cheers and whistles of Sunday evening still ringing in his ears. As captain Jim Furyk posed with the gold Ryder Cup trophy at the foot of the steps, Woods hung back, his sleepy eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses: a man who, in every sense, has been on quite a journey.

There had barely been time for Woods to lift the Tour Championship trophy the previous night - his first title in five long years - than he was in a car speeding towards Atlanta airport for the 10pm overnight charter across the Atlantic. And the arrival of Woods on European soil just a few hours later marked the start of a week where for all the regular razzmatazz of the Cup, the reborn Tiger is the only real show in town.

It’s hard to overstate just how much Woods’ spectacular comeback has gilded this weekend’s competition. Just a few short months ago, it was assumed Woods would be at Le Golf National in a non-playing capacity, a trusted vice-captain who would impart a little of his star quality from the comfort of the team buggy. Then, he was an outside chance for selection. Then a strong contender. Then a shoo-in for one of Furyk’s wildcards. Now, he arrives as perhaps the form player on the planet, and if it’s a scarcely credible tale to most of us, then for Woods himself it must feel like the most surreal of reversals.

An exceptionally well-edited, albeit incredibly fake, viral video was doing the rounds overnight. It featured Woods watching an iPad clip of pundits and commentators writing him off over recent years. “The short game is gone, the health is gone,” one says. “Retire with some dignity,” urges another. Woods cracks a thin smile. But although the video may have been fake, the emotions it inspires are real. Woods’s comeback inspires the same sort of stupefying disbelief as someone turning up at their own funeral and casually asking what time the buffet opens.

Perhaps this is why, for all the rancour and rivalry the Ryder Cup generates, Woods is being feted like a homecoming hero on both sides of the Atlantic. “I spent 25 years playing golf with Tiger Woods, and anytime he does anything great, that’s the story,” said European captain Thomas Bjorn at Le Golf National on Monday.

“We want to see him at the top of his game, as he does so much for the game of golf. It was great for the greater aspect of the game. Tiger winning tournaments again is brilliant, and we all benefit from it. The game of golf needs that boost from someone like him, who transcends the game.”

Woods touches down in France after his victory in Atlanta on Sunday night (Getty)

Furyk, meanwhile, grinned with relish at the prospect of unleashing a peak Tiger on the Europeans in their own backyard. “It’s a nice buzz for our team. Not that this even needs that much more energy brought to it, but it will add that much more excitement.”

Implicit in the words of both, of course, was an admission: that while people like to talk about no man being bigger than the sport, when it comes to Woods, that’s not really the case. For more than two decades now, Tiger has been golf’s meal ticket, the one-man tidal wave that lifted all boats within it. Now, improbably and incredibly, the wave is here again, and over the coming days we will all get one more chance to ride atop its crest.