Tiger Woods’ return to golf is ‘huge for the sport,’ says Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods’ announcement he’ll return to the playing field at the Hero World Challenge later this month sparked the usual insane frenzy that anything the former world No. 1 does. Of all the well-wishers swarming to social media to welcome the injury-plagued superstar back to the fold, Phil Mickelson’s message stood out for its grace and simplicity — just Lefty, clad in Gary Player black, with a golf course as the backdrop. “To have him back playing is huge for the sport,” Mickelson said of his long-time rival and old friend (more on that later) in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday. Woods will begin his latest comeback some 10 months after he hit his last shot in competition in a miserable one-round stint at the Dubai Desert Classic in February.