Tiger Woods will struggle to match Rory McIlroy's drives, even with his new technique, says Rob Lee

Rob Lee believes top players should be taking a break rather than boosting their bank account at the Hero World Challenge event. However, Brooks Koepka can score Race to Dubai points in Sun City...

Obviously, the big story in golf this week is the return to action of Tiger Woods, who hosts the Hero World Challenge at his home club of Florida.

It's a strong field featuring 12 of the world's top 20 players, but for me it's little more than an exhibition tournament.

Do any of these guys really need to play at this time of year? I would have thought it’s a great time to recharge the batteries.

Do any of these guys really need to play at this time of year? I would have thought it’s a great time to recharge the batteries, but the lure of some easy dollars, even for multi-millionaires, is too strong.

But then some of these players will start complaining about fatigue. Instead of taking the chance to wind down and opt out, you find a lot of the top players are opting in.

So I will not have any sympathy if they play the fatigue card further down the line. They’re playing this week, and then it’s three weeks off before they get right back at it again.

One thing is for sure. None of these top players need the money!

Is it any more than an exhibition? Well it just has the feel of an exhibition. There are 18 players in a four-round stroke-play event. Probably six or seven of them won’t be playing well, and then there’s the big spread in the scoring. I’m not a fan to be honest.

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Traditionally, it’s always been a strong field, a lot of the top players turn up to play in Tiger’s event. Look at Jordan Spieth, he won in Sydney last week and now he’s flown to Florida to play. Henrik Stenson was in Dubai last week and he’s taking part as well.

But does anyone really care who wins this week? I don’t. I view it as a glorified company day.

Tiger's back

At least Tiger is back after four months out, and we’ve seen some brief footage of his “new, old swing”.  It looks like his posture has gone back to being more upright, but it’s very difficult to analyse until he gets going on Thursday.

Once we see a selection of shots, that will be more of an indicator, but I suspect there is a difference as he tries to work out a way to swing the club without putting as much strain on his body.

The problem Tiger has is that there’s a lot of “macho” in there. When he started on the PGA Tour he was the longest guy. He would drive it past everybody and take doglegs out of the equation.

But now he’s just in the pack, and he won’t like that. He will not like going out with Rory McIlroy and being 20 yards behind him all the time. So don’t tell me he’ll swing more within himself when he’s playing with Rory because that’s not going to happen.

Live Nedbank Golf Challenge

Tiger is just such a competitive animal. At one point in his career he was untouchable, everybody else was an also-ran. But he is now playing second fiddle to Rory and he needs to catch up.

First of all, his body has to hold up, and then he has to play a lot better than he did last year. He’s capable of doing both, but he’s not capable of driving the ball like Rory does, and that gives Rory a big advantage.

European Tour resumes

Meanwhile, after a massive break of 10 days, the 2015 European Tour season starts this week with the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City.

It used to be an elite 12-man event where everyone just turned up for the money. But the field was extended to 30 last year, and the tournament has a lot more clout as there are Race to Dubai points up for grabs.

Live World Golf Challenge

Some have suggested it’s an unfair advantage for the 30 players teeing up to get a head start in the new season. It’s the chance to get off to a great start for sure, but they are there on merit, they have earned their places in the field.

I’m sure the guys taking part will not be losing sleep over those who didn’t get in!

The Gary Player Country Club is a great course, and I think Brooks Koepka can win again. He won impressively in Turkey, and he has the length that makes such a difference on this layout.

He said after winning in Turkey that he intended to play both main Tours this season, so he’ll be eyeing this up as a massive chance to get some early Race to Dubai points on the board. I really like his all-round game, and he can go all the way this week.

As for the Ryder Cup stars on show, I think Jamie Donaldson will have another good week. He’s had a fantastic year and he just continues to improve.

At one point in his career it looked like he would leak off the European Tour. He had some back problems and was really struggling.

But look at him now. Ryder Cup player – in fact he had “the moment” at Gleneagles – and he keeps getting better. He’s a late developer, but Jamie is now playing the best golf of his life and it seems like he puts in a performance every week.

It’s a big week for golf in many ways as we wind down towards Christmas, and don’t forget both events are live on Sky Sports 4 from Thursday through to Sunday.

ROB’S SKY BET TIP:

Brooks Koepka to round off his year with a win at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Watch the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Hero World Challenge on Sky Sports 4 HD