Gene J. Puskar / AP file Tiger Woods, left, hopes to be the player receiving the U.S. Open trophy from last year's winner Angel Cabrera, right, when the U.S. Open concludes at Torrey Pines. Woods, who will be playing his first tournament since undergoing knee surgery, has won the Buick Invitational played at Torrey Pines six times, including the last four.

It's been more than two months since Tiger Woods played any competitive golf.

Two days after finishing second at the Masters, Woods had knee surgery and since that time he's been on the shelf.

He returns this week for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla. Most players would have no chance to come off a two-month layoff and win a major, but as we all know, Tiger isn't most golfers.

Last week I asked Oxnard native Corey Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open champion, who he was picking to win this year's Open: Woods, Phil Mickelson or someone else.

Without hesitation, Pavin said he would take Woods, citing his phenomenal track record at Torrey Pines and the fact he is the best player in the world.

Naysayers will point to the fact two years ago Woods came off a same-length layoff and missed the cut at the 2006 U.S. Open. But that was a different circumstance because Woods was trying to emotionally recover from the death of his father, Earl.

This is a much different case because Woods is dealing with a physical setback, something he can handle much better. He showed at the Masters he can play with pain, coming within a few missed putts of winning the tournament.

So even if his knee is not 100 percent when the the Open starts, Woods figures to be able to handle whatever discomfort he will experience.

Woods also has history on his side.

"It's not like I haven't been down this road before. I had the same procedure done in 2003 and came back at Torrey Pines to win," Woods said at the news conference two weeks ago to promote his upcoming tournament in Washington D.C. "So I know what it takes to win a tournament coming back after having a procedure done."

Woods has the added confidence that comes with having been so successful at Torrey Pines.

He has won six Buick Invitationals at the venue, including the last four. While Mickelson, who figures to be the chief rival for Woods this week, has won four times at Torrey Pines, all four of those wins came before Rees Jones redesigned the golf course.

Four of Woods' Buick titles came after the redesign, showing that he's very comfortable with the layout.

Woods has talked about how comfortable he is at Torrey, how it fits his eye. Yes, the Open setup will be more challenging than the way the course plays for the Buick, but that will not diminish the comfort level and confidence Woods feels because of all his success at Torrey Pines.

That success is not lost on the field either. The other players know how good Woods is at Torrey Pines. When it was announced that Torrey Pines would host the 2008 U.S. Open, most people agreed that Woods would walk away win the title. Knee injury or not, that will still be the case this week.

— Bob Buttitta is The Star's golf writer. He can be reached at bbuttitta@VenturaCountyStar.com.