Justin Thomas has tipped Tiger Woods to enjoy a successful 2018 as long as his back can hold up to the rigours of playing regularly on the PGA Tour.

Former world number one Woods has been forced to undergo several surgeries on a long-term back injury and made his hotly-anticipated return to action at the recent Hero World Challenge, finishing in a tie for ninth. PGA Championship winner Thomas was pleased to see Woods return and is hopeful the 14-time major winner can enjoy a successful year, but he has also urged caution.

“If he plays healthy, I think he’ll have a great year,” Thomas said. “It’s hard to not hype it up or talk about this or that, but in reality we need to see what happens because no one knows.” Thomas said it was nice to see Woods playing with a smile on his face at the Hero World Challenge – an event won by Rickie Fowler. “He was just so happy (at the World Challenge) which was cool to see,” Thomas added.

“I’ve spent some time with him the last couple of years and I’ve never seen him so happy… having so much fun and grinding it out and playing well.” Woods’ long-term goal is to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships and he will get his first chance to challenge for one of the big four events again at the Masters in April.

Woods is a four-time winner at Augusta and is priced at 21.00 to claim glory there in 2018.