European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has tipped Tiger woods to challenge the dominance of word number one Rory McIlroy in 2015.

Woods has played only once in the last four months after shutting his season down following the US PGA Championship, and there are still many questions to be answered as to whether he will ever again be a force in the sport.

The 39-year-old finished in a tie for last place at the restricted-field Honda World Challenge on his return from another lengthy absence in December, and all eyes will be on the 14-time major winner when he returns to the PGA Tour in the next few weeks.

McIlroy has been the man to emerge as Woods’s successor, with two major triumphs last year en route to the top of the rankings and, 14 years his junior, a few pundits feel the Northern Irishman may go on to surpass what the US star has achieved in the game.

But McGinley believes that Woods is not yet done as a major contender and has shown signs that the old Tiger might be set to re-emerge.

“I saw him play in that tournament and the one thing that was very clear is that he’s got his distance back,” he told Reuters. “If you are playing at the top level in professional golf now you’ve got to be hitting the ball a long way.

“Rory has got that, he’s one of the longest hitters in the world, and it looks like Tiger has got that back. That’s going to be a big asset for him.”