The crowd gathered for a lunchtime driving range session in Dubai provided the latest indicator of Tiger Woods’s lingering appeal. He even provided more to see than usual, having taken advantage of European Tour rules in order to wear shorts.

The 40-year-old toppled out of the Farmers Insurance Open after 36 holes at Torrey Pines near San Diego the previous week but his arrival in the Middle East for the Dubai Desert Classic adds an extra dynamic to the European Tour event. Fellow players, including the Masters champion Danny Willett, acknowledge that much.

“I watched pretty much every shot of his two rounds last week and it was just great seeing him back in action,” Willett said of Woods, who shot 76 and 72 on his return to the PGA Tour after an absence of 17 months with a back injury.

“And then to have him here this week, I think it’s great for the European Tour; it’s great for Dubai. It’s a place he’s coming back to; Tiger doesn’t play events just because he wants to play them. He plays events because he knows he’s got a good chance when he turns up. He has played well around this course and he’s got some good memories.

“When Tiger is here it makes things that little bit extra special. He’s going to try to win. And I think that’s great for the European Tour to have, to have arguably the greatest player of all time come to Dubai to try to take that championship trophy away on Sunday.

“There’s a few of us who are going to try to stop him but it’s great to have him back. It’s great to have him back playing and it’s great for the game and fortunately enough I’ll be able to be around all week to witness it.”

Willett will have Woods and Matthew Fitzpatrick for company over the first two rounds at the Emirates Club. Woods has won this event twice with another former major winner, Graeme McDowell, endorsing Willett’s sentiment of how prominent the American can be.

“Tiger Woods is not going to be back playing as many events as he is if he’s not ready,” McDowell said. “He is one of the most mentally tough athletes I’ve ever seen playing any sport and I fully expect him of being capable at competing at the high level again. It is always fun when Tiger is in the field. That moves the needle somewhat.”

Sergio García was not quite as effusive. The Spaniard and the American have had a famously turbulent relationship but García welcomed his long-standing adversary to the stable of his sponsor TaylorMade. “We’re all professionals here,” said García. “I’m proud he chose to join TaylorMade and obviously TaylorMade were very keen about it. So am I.”

The 37-year-old was less certain about Woods’s long-term prospects. “Everything is a little bit of a question mark, just to see how he’s going to respond physically and everything,” García said. “So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

“If you ask will he play like the way he did in the early 2000s, it is difficult. He’s got a lot of qualities and he can obviously get to a high level. I think to get to that level is very difficult, even for him, because he’s 40 now. So his body doesn’t move the way it used to move when he was 20, 25.

“But we’ll see. Like I said, I think everything is a little bit of a question mark for all of us, we’ll see how it goes in the next four or five months.”

Woods spent Tuesday afternoon undertaking promotional work, including a helicopter tour.

A spokesperson for the Trump Dubai course, which is expected to open soon, refused to reveal if the 14-times major winner is scheduled to visit it during his stay.