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Woods back in the hunt for titles

Tiger Woods produced a wonderful comeback at the Australian Open © Getty Images

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Report: Tiger falls short in fightback

Tiger Woods may not have won the Australian Open this week, but he certainly provided enough moments of magic to have the world's best players looking over their shoulder.

In a field containing eight of the world's top 20 golfers, Woods fell barely short as he finished in third place on 11-under, two strokes behind winner Greg Chalmers. Woods shot a thrilling 67 on the final day in Sydney as he attempted to make up a six-shot deficit after his disappointing third round. The dramatic fightback did not result in silverware for the 35-year-old, but you sense it could be only a matter of time before he is again lifting trophies.

The former world No. 1 showed enough class in his play across the four days to suggest that a return to winning tournaments, including majors, is not yet beyond his capabilities. He took the lead after the second round with some superb, aggressive golf, while his resolve on the final day to at one stage climb within a stroke of the lead was the stuff of a true champion.

Looking to the short-term, Woods will now take on another strong field at next week's Presidents Cup. Of course, individual glory will not be the goal for Woods on this occasion as the event is a match play tournament. However, given the United States have won the title six times in the past eight attempts, a further boost to Woods' confidence appears imminent.

If potential victory and taking another step in his recovery isn't incentive enough for Woods, then perhaps revenge will suffice. Woods ultimately succumbed to Charl Schwartzel at an exciting Masters in April this year, and the pair will be on opposite sides of the ledger as the USA take on the International team in Melbourne next week.

Schwartzel will be joined by the likes of KJ Choi, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, plus a strong Australian contingent led by US Open runner-up Jason Day, for the Internationals. That field will certainly pose another challenge for Woods as he looks to make moves back to the top of the game. Woods is one of only three players to record a perfect Presidents Cup performance when he did so in 2009, winning all five of his matches, and will no doubt be hoping for similar heroics at Royal Melbourne.

For this week, Woods finally combined the stroke-making genius and mental resolve which has taken him to 97 career wins. But for a lapse at the start of the third day, which cost him the title, Woods more than matched some of the world's best as he produced thunderous drives and intelligent recovery strokes. Next week, as he goes head-to-head with an arguably tougher group of opponents, could answer the question as to when, not if, Tiger Woods will return to the winner's podium.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.