After an exciting 2016, the world awaits Tiger's return in 2017

BRIEF tenures on top of the men's world rankings signify that no one single golfer ruled the roost in the season just gone by. The baton of bragging rights and much more shifted from Jordan Spieth to Rory McIlroy to Jason Day in an exciting year of golf in 2016 when the balance of power shifted as much as the winds on a cold day at Fiji's oceanic Natadola Bay course.

The excitement was sustained when the likes of Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson threw in their names in the golden pot with impeccable displays.

Stenson, the sensational Swede, and Johnson, the American ace, weighed in further with respective Major victories that cemented their status as golfers with the Midas touch.

Stenson outslugged the veteran "Lefty", Phil Mickelson, at Royal Troon with a spectacular finish of nine-under 63 on a birdie-fest final day.

That record-equalling lowest score in a Major thrust him to a winning 20-under total of 264, also a record for any of the Grand Slam tournaments.

"Wow, this will take a little while to sink in," reacted Stenson after he and Mickelson evoked memories of the fantastic "Duel in the Sun" Turnberry Open in 1977 when Tom Watson subdued Jack Nicklaus in another epic head-to-head.

Johnson claimed the US Open in June for a Major breakthrough, winning by three shots despite controversially suffering a one-stroke penalty when his ball moved on the fifth green.

Spieth's late collapse opened the door for Danny Willett to claim the Green Jacket in the US Masters and American Jimmy Walker was an unexpected winner for the US PGA Championship title - a first-time Major victory.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama's showed his supremacy at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai when he floored the star-studded opposition and moved into the world's top 10 rankings.

Golf's return to the Olympic Games after 112 years was viewed as a major breakthrough for the sport, but that was not a good enough reason to entice the world's top four players to wind their way to the Brazilian port city of Rio.

In their conspicuous absence, Englishman Justin Rose beat Stenson by two shots in an exciting four-day event in August (no cuts) that went all the way to the final putts.

Six weeks later, the popular pair were on Europe's losing side when the United States handsomely won the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, Minnesota, for the first time since 2008.

No doubt, it was during a period when the sporting world mourned the death of the legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, aged 87. But the sad farewell to an American ace also inspired the Americans to secure a victory for the grieving countrymen as only five days after Palmer's death, the US stormed to a commanding 4-0 lead before cruising home.

The Ryder Cup also tossed in Tiger Woods' name in the fray, among the vice-captains to boss Davis Love, and the former long-time world No 1 played a motivational role for his countrymen.

From that inaction - and after 16 months as a spectator - the 14-time Major champion swung into action at the Hero World Challenge in Bahamas in December.

He may not have finished high up - 15th in a 17-man field - but on the four days in the Caribbean, we witnessed calypso (highest aggregate of 24 birdies and six double-bogeys) golf that stunned the world.

Having just turned 41 a week ago on Dec 30, the precocity of his pre-teen days that reeled the world was replayed as the golfing phenomenon's golf was pure box office.

Now, the world waits for his second coming. He will launch his 2017 campaign at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, north of San Diego. The Jan 26-29 event will be Woods' first tournament of the year.

The consensus is that Woods is on his way back. Fijian Vijay Singh who once duelled with him for the world No spot, told me in Fiji recently: "If he can get over his back problems, we'll see a new Tiger on the prowl."

Nick Faldo told me at Danang in Vietnam a few weeks back: "I played with him for two days in the 1997 US Masters as the defending champion. He mesmerised me, and eventually won the Augusta event by a mile for his first Major. In his element, he is uncatchable."

Gary Player, 81, who won his last Major at 42 (US Masters), told me at Mission Hills recently: "So what if he has hit 40? If he can overcome his injuries and off-the-course problems, we'll see the Tiger of old. And he can deliver."

But love him (for his god-given golfing talents) or loathe him (for his past indiscretions), the game needs Woods as much as he needs the game.

As Spieth once said: "He's the guy who can continue to have an influence on the golf course for players ... he can truly help get numbers back up in golf."

How true!