Tiger ready to pounce in 2012

Tiger Woods is keen to get started in 2012, and hopes his first tournament win in over two years is a sign of things to come.

The 36-year-old endured a horror run through 2010 and much of 2011 following revelations of his infidelity and a split from his wife.

He watched his world ranking plummet as low as 58 in November after a string of poor performances, but after winning the Chevron World Challenge in December he now sits 23rd.

Woods' 2012 campaign begins on January 26 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, and the American will be up against the likes of world No.1 Luke Donald and US Open champion Rory McIlroy.

After battling knee problems for a large portion of 2011, Woods said he is excited to be starting the year injury free.

"The lowest moments came from the fact that I wasn't healthy and couldn't put in the time on and off the course that I wanted and needed to, and that was frustrating," Woods said.

"I was playing with pain and that isn't fun. The last couple of months have been really fun and that is mostly because I am feeling healthy again and building week on week."

"I am looking to get off to a fast start in Abu Dhabi and keep building from there."

Woods said he is looking forward to the prospect of taking on McIlroy and Donald at full strength.

"Rory and Luke are both very talented golfers and I admire what they have achieved in the last year," he said.

"There are so many great and talented players in the game right now - it is exciting for golf fans and I relish the challenge of going head-to-head with any number of the leading players on a Sunday afternoon."

"I think the level of consistency I had a few years ago would see me climb back up the rankings pretty quickly, but I do think there are some pretty phenomenal golfers out there that I really respect."