Smiling Tiger back on the prowl

ALL has changed in the world of Tiger Woods since he limped off the golf course after just nine holes of the Player Championship at Sawgrass 12 weeks ago. All and nothing.

The former world number one has seen Rory McIlroy emerge as a rival to his throne with that eight-shot US Open victory, watched good pal Darren Clarke win the British Open at the age of 42 and slipped to 28th in the world for his poorest ranking for 14 years.

He’s left management giants IMG with his agent Mark Steinberg in tow and moved to Excel Sports Management. He’s sacked Steve Williams, his caddie of 12 years and arrived in Akron for this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with boyhood pal Bryon Bell on the bag as a temporary replacement.