Tiger Woods has been sorely missed since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in July and it seems that everybody is hanging on news of his return to the game. Depending on who you believe, he could be up and running early in the new year, or might never again swing a club in anger. He could return stronger and better than before, or a shadow of his former self.

One thing is for certain. While the big cat has been away, the mice (and whatever you say, that's exactly what most of them are when he is around) have begun to play. Among those to have shone in his absence are Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim, as well as a revived and rejuvenated Vijay Singh. Padraig Harrington has won the last two majors without Woods in the field, but he can rightly point to the fact that his record head-to-head against the world No.1 bears close scrutiny. He is one of the few players who is not diminished in Tiger's company.

It was intriguing, then, to witness Sergio Garcia's victory at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai this week and his elevation to No.2 in the world. Immediately after he had beaten Oliver Wilson, of England, in a play-off for the title, the Spaniard was asked about his goals and, inevitably, his chance of replacing Woods at the top of the world rankings.

It is fairly common knowledge that the two are not best buddies, and yet Garcia was not about to "do a (Rory) Sabatini" and suggest that Woods was there for the taking. First, he said, he wants to win his first major championship. And then, he said, he would like to think he could challenge Woods - who has 14 major titles to his name - for the top spot.

He is taking nothing for granted, however, and nor should he. "You've got to realise that when we talk about Tiger, we're looking at the kind of player that you don't see very often," he said. "There are very few like him, if there has ever been one like him. It's possible (to take over at No.1), mainly because he has been injured. But we know that as soon as he comes out, he's going to play well and it's going to become quite tough."

It was a theme that was echoed throughout the week. Mickelson, who has spent most of his career in the huge shadow cast by Woods, admitted that the PGA Tour, the sponsors, the fans and his rivals all needed the world No.1 back as soon as possible. There is a buzz when Woods is in the field and he has been solely responsible for raising standards and prize funds in the 12 years since he turned professional. Everybody has got richer on the back of his arrival in the game

It is the young guns, however, who are most likely to fancy their chances of knocking Woods off the top perch. Villegas, up to No.7 in the world after winning the last two big tournaments on the PGA Tour - the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship - has grown in stature this year. And already, the 26-year-old Colombian is showing irritation when being asked about Woods. "Ah, the Tiger question," he replied when asked about him in Shanghai. Needless to say, the inquisitor did not linger on the subject.

Perhaps the most interesting response was that of Kim, at 23 and up to No.9 in the world, the cockiest of them all. "When he comes back, we'll be a little better prepared to deal with the onslaught," the American said.

How quickly they forget. After all, they all witnessed at close hand one of the most staggering major championships of all time, when Woods won the US Open on one leg at Torrey Pines four months ago. The gap between him and the rest is huge. And it is as much his mental strength as anything else that separates them.

Which might explain the bemusement of Geoff Ogilvy, the former US Open champion, who said recently that he believed Adam Scott, his fellow Australian, was a better ball-striker than Woods.

For the record, Scott has yet to win a major and has rarely been in contention. In all honesty, he still has a long way to go to be talked of in the same breath as arguably the finest player of all time. What is certain, however, is that the interest levels will go through the roof when Woods steps on to the tee again for the first time. Then we shall see who is ready to take up the challenge.

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