Adam Scott asks the impossible: Don’t cheer for Tiger Woods

While Mickelson is not the only big-name golfer to agree to play the Saudi International - 2019 victor Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and Tony Finau are among those who are also scheduled to compete - Mickelson's decision is the one that led to questions for Woods.

As event host this week on the 18-player Hero World Problem, Woods has the luxurious of deciding pairings and tee occasions for Wednesday's first spherical at Albany Golf Course. Successes at this event have kind of mirrored what I have done at Torey on west coast.

"Obviously, I would have liked to have made the team on points and not have to be anxious about the process and waiting to see how Brooks was going to be feeling", he admitted, which seems to indicate that Woods had him in the first spot as a possible replacement for Koepka or anyone else who might not have been able to play.

"Ever since I got through that, it's been back to the grind", Fowler stated. "I had never done it; 14-1 (leading into the final round at Masters) is not a bad record but I had never done it this way", he said.

The 15-time Major victor faces stiff competition from the likes of Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field this week. The champion golfer is 24-15-1 in eight appearances while he has a losing record in the same number of Ryder Cups with 13 wins, 21 losses and 3 halves.

Of course, he wants to win this one first.

A fourth win in 2019 will also make it his best year in terms of golf. Eleven of the 12 members of the US President's Cup team are here in the Bahamas. No, (it won't distract me). "We were trying to figure out what was going on; who birdied what, who was making a move", he added.

"Its not like my mind's going to wander".

"I'm focusing on this week, I want to defend and I want to finish the year strong. Nothing better than finishing with three in a row so my mind's on this week so once it's over I'll focus on that (marriage)".

Woods also said he is looking forward to the dual challenge in Australia next week.

International Team Captain Ernie Els says he will go for the guy with "the look in the eye" when it comes to taking on U.S. Team Captain Tiger Woods in Sunday singles at next week's Presidents Cup. And the role's not easy. "I'm really just hoping that Brooks is able to heal up and get back to playing competitively soon, which I don't have a doubt on that".

"I need to keep practising, I need to keep working on my game, make sure I have all my feels and my game is sharp and ready to go, because at minimum next week I'll be responsible for two points", said Woods.

Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal, who will be working alongside Woods in restoration work of the affected islands, said: "Two of the islands were really, really devastated badly".