Tiger Woods Update: With A Masters Win And Jack Nicklaus' Record On The Mind, Golfer To Make Official Return At Torrey Pines

This week Tiger Woods has sounded a whole lot like, well, the old Tiger Woods. After a brief flirtation with lowered expectations during his initial return to the game from injury, the 14-time major winner is again setting lofty goals.

Woods experienced modest success in his first tournament in more than 400 days when he played December's World Hero Challenge, an unofficial event in the Bahamas. He finished 15th out of 17 players but shot a stellar 65 in the second round.

Folks immediately began speculating about another major win for Woods, whose career was in question just days prior. But now Woods himself has joined the chorus of speculation. Talking with press ahead of his first official event in more than a year, the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, Woods was already looking forward to the first major of the year at Augusta National in early April.

"I'd love to play [the Masters]," he said at Riviera Country Club. "I'd love to win. I've won it four times. Hopefully, I can add a fifth."

That sounds a lot like the old Woods, not the version of the golfer who recently compared himself to Fred Funk. Woods' well-worn motto is that he shows up to win every event, but he's upped the ante even further this week. He compared his career to Jack Nicklaus', whose record of 18 major wins has long been Woods' white whale. Asked in an interview with Golf News if he thinks he could still top that figure, Woods said, "I do."

"Jack had an absolutely amazing career, and he's a friend, but it took him an entire career to get to 18 majors," Woods told the United Arab Emirates news outlet ahead of playing the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February. "Hopefully I have a lot of good years ahead of me."

Getting to 18 major wins remains a particularly tough task for Woods after so many notable setbacks. Considering the stunning lows Woods sunk to — at one point seemingly unable hit simple chip shots — it would be one of sports' greatest comebacks. If Woods has his way, the path down the long road to 18 wins begins with the 2017 Masters.

Asked at Riviera when he'll start to think about Augusta National, the Woods had a simple response.

"Now," he said.