Tiger turns 41 with comeback plans for 2017

TIL Desk Sports/ Tiger Woods celebrated his 41st birthday, the 14-time major winner having already made a comeback from a 466-day back surgery layoff with hopes of recapturing success. Woods was inconsistent over 72 holes at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-man Bahamas event in early December to benefit his charity foundation, and fan interest remains high even though he has only showed glimpses of the form that made him a must-see attraction for years.

While saying he still has designs on the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, Woods would be bucking the odds to catch his boyhood idol. Old Tom Morris won three British Opens at 41 or older in the 1860s and remains the lone three-time major winner beyond his 41st birthday.

Nicklaus became the oldest Masters winner by taking his last green jacket in 1986, while Julius Boros is the oldest major winner, taking the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48. Boros, Harry Vardon and Woods’s pal Mark O’Meara each won two majors after turning 41. British Opens have produced three champions in the past six years who were 41 or older with Swede Henrik Stenson at 40 when he took the Claret Jug in 2016.