NASSAU, Bahamas -- If there was any trepidation about hitting full, powerful shots or spending t much time doing so, Tiger Wds wasnt letting on Sunday afternn as the wind whipped across the driving range at Albany Golf Club -- where he was the only player practicing.With his return to competitive golf after a 15-month absence lming this week at the Hero World Challenge, Wds was busy testing equipment -- and lking pretty gd doing so.Im not dead, he quipped. Wds, 40, arrived in the Bahamas on Saturday and played nine holes, then spent some two-and-half hours Sunday on the driving range and in a testing center using a device called TrackMan to gauge various distances and launch angles -- a process he said is more daunting now that his longtime sponsor, Nike, is no longer making golf clubs, and Wds has an array of choices.So many manufacturers sent Wds clubs to try that my head was spinning. For now, he is sticking with his Nike irons and experimenting with various wds -- it was a TaylorMade driver, 3-wd and 5-wd and Sunday -- and he dropped a bit of news when he said hes using a Bridgestone golf ball this week.?The most important thing is the ball, he said. Once you find a ball, then you can work around everything else. The ball is No. 1. The most important club in the bag is the ball.Wds had no trouble carrying drives over 300 yards, shaping shots in both directions with his various clubs while showing no pangs of discomfort. Of course, its Sunday, not the opening round on Thursday of an otherwise low-key, 18-player tournament that benefits the Tiger Wds Foundation. Its a year-ending cash grab for many stars of the game, and how they fare here is of little consequence. There are world ranking points at stake, and a $3.5 million purse with $1 million going to the winner.But for Wds -- who in his absence has slipped to 879th in the world -- this is a big deal. The 14-time major champion has not competed since August 2015 at the Wyndham Championship, where he tied for 10th. Earlier he had missed cuts in three consecutive major championships. And he would later undergo two back procedures that forced him to the sideline, causing all kind of speculation about his future in the game.According to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBk, Wds has the worst odds to win the tournament, at 40-1, of anyone in the 18-person field.Wds admitted he will be nervous.But Im nervous for every tournament I play in, whether its after a layoff, or six in a row, or a major, he said. I care. If I care, Im nervous. And its gd to be that way. To have that nervous energy and channel it into aggression, into focus, concentration, thats gd stuff. If I wasnt nervous, that would mean I didnt care. I dont want to be out there flat.Wds said he understands the thinking that he shouldnt care, that just being back after an extended absence is enough.I get that, and that part is great t, he said. Im out here playing and competing. That part is really neat. Then there is that part of me that is the competitor who wants to beat these guys. I want to compete.Some seven weeks ago, Wds announced he was not ready to do that. He at first committed to the Safeway Open in California, then three days before the tournament decided to pull out because he described his game as vulnerable and not ready to compete against the best in the world. That set off a new wave of doubts about his game and his future, and while Wds said he badly wanted to play that week, it was a gd decision in the end. The competitor inside me wanted to go so badly and was itching to go. I had been playing at home. I thought only if I have a few shots, its gd enough to get it around. I had played feeling worse. But whats the point in rushing back when Ive waited over a year to begin with?Ive waited this long, its not going to hurt to wait just this much longer.Wds caddie, Joe LaCava, who was walking the Albany course on Sunday, twice went to Florida to work with Wds since the Safeway withdrawal, mostly to get Wds in tournament mode and off a golf cart. His instructor, Chris Como, has also been there. Two weeks ago, Wds and LaCava played rounds on four consecutive days, walking -- which seems simple enough until Wds explains he had not been doing that enough.Its weird to say, but I have to get my walking legs, he said. Its a 5-mile walk. You forget what it feels like to be in golf shoes versus tennis shoes. To be on an uneven lie versus a flat lie. I can walk for two or three hours on a treadmill and its not the same as walking on a golf course. Its so different, the standing around (between shots).The rhythm of playing in a golf cart versus walking and playing. I had forgotten that because I had been away for over a year. Joey really helped me ... normal tournament talk, I had to get used to that again.This is a big week for Wds every year. The event began in 1999 at the urging of his late father, Earl, and is a big fundraiser for his foundation. There are numerous sponsor obligations -- Hero has one more year on its deal after the 2016 event -- as well as all the attention his game is going to receive.Im ready to go, he said. Cheap Under Armour Sale . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Under Armour Uk Sale . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. http://www.underarmoursaleuk.com/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shtout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Under Armou Sale Clearance . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in ftball after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to lk at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Cheap Under Armour Shoes . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tyler Stehling threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more scores, including the go-ahead touchdown with about three minutes left, capping Rices come-from-behind 22-21 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.Stehling finished with 279 yards passing and ran for 93 yards. Zach Wright had 12 receptions for 111 yards for the Owls (2-8, 1-6 Conference USA).Charlotte (4-6, 3-3) jumped out to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Kalif Phillips ran for a 14-yard touchdown. Hasaan Klugh tossed a 4-yard score to Workpeh Kofa, and Terrance Winchester pickeed off Stehling and ran 41 yards into the end zone.ddddddddddddayden Tobola kicked a 24-yard field goal, and Stehling connected with Temi Alaka on a 3-yard TD just before half to make it 21-10.A turnover from a fumbled 49ers punt return set up Stehlings 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Stehling then led a 71-yard scoring drive, capped by his 1-dive with 2:53 to left. The 49ers went four-and-out before the Owls ran out the clock. ' ' '