Tiger Woods' rivals may be openly praising his return to winning ways but will inwardly not be happy to see him competing at the top once again, according to esteemed coach Pete Cowen.
Former world number one Woods ended a five-year trophy drought to win the Tour Championship on Sunday to collect the 80th PGA Tour title of a legendary career.
It completes a remarkable full comeback season for Woods, whose back injuries have been well documented and who once said he was unsure if he would ever play again.
Tributes from fellow pros flooded in following an emotional triumph, but Cowen – who coaches the likes of Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka – is not so sure how happy the field genuinely is to see Woods winning again.
Speaking to Omnisport, he said: "It's great for the game of golf to see him playing like this. I saw him on the course yesterday and said 'bloody hell you're back'.
"It'll be a problem for his rivals that's he's back and I told him, 'they might be saying they're glad you're back but I know they're saying otherwise when you're not there.' He laughed at that.
"I think everyone is surprised to see what he's done, probably even himself. But he's not got a give-up bone in his body, so if ever there was anyone who was going to make it back after going through all that, it is him."
Woods' return to form comes at a particularly opportune time considering the United States will wage battle with Europe at the Ryder Cup this weekend.
The 14-time major winner has only ever been part of a winning team once in seven Ryder Cup contests, but Cowen believes he will have a different mentality at Le Golf National this week.
"He's got a different agenda now, he's 42 years old. It was always mainly about winning majors before and although of course he still wants more, he also wants to be a team player," he added.
"He's created even more of a buzz with his win last weekend and to have him here is just brilliant."
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