Tiger Woods' history is full of myth and manipulation and his comeback this week adds yet another twist.
When he teed off in the Bahamas it was not merely a golfer taking on a golf course, or, indeed, taking on the other 17 players in the Hero World Challenge.
It was the cynic in us all taking on the romantic in us all.
In truth, the cynic should be giving a couple of shots as the odds are firmly in their favour.
And not just because Woods has not played competitively in 10 months because of a fourth back operation.
No, when it comes to Tiger and his comebacks, the cynic has an overload of spin and manipulation at which to roll his eyes.
For starters, the cynic will have heard all of the positivity in the build-up to this end-of-season dollar-fest and wonder why we should believe a word coming out of the mouths of Tiger and those around him.
Have we forgotten that 12 months ago he also told us he was "pain free"? Has it slipped our minds that just two months later in Dubai he swore those grimaces and flinches were not what we thought?
"I wasn't in pain with my back at all," he said after a first-round 77. And guess what? Woods pulled out of the tournament 18 hours later. Suffering from acute back pain.
Yes, we felt fools then, but we had been played for fools before. In February 2016, a respected golf writer reported that Woods had suffered a major setback and was struggling even to sit.
"Absolutely false," retorted Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg. "It's reprehensible that someone makes up something and it's treated like a real story."
So we left it alone and, lo and behold, what did Woods admit on Tuesday?
"I was in bed for about two years," he said. "People asked me, 'why don't you go out to dinner?' 'I can't', I'd tell them. 'I can't sit'."
Now, you tell us what is "reprehensible"?
The cynic can also see the motive for this perpetual mistruth meddling.
Woods has multimillion-dollar contracts and they mean he cannot confess to being a broken has-been. The myth of hope is the only thing cashing those cheques.
Thankfully, the romantic is there to swipe all this aside and this time it seems rather easy to do so.
Woods finally underwent a spinal fusion and the experts assure us that it is very possible, if not highly probable, that he will be pain free. And if he is and if his body holds up, then anything and everything is up for grabs.
Certainly, at 41, he is not too old.
Vijay Singh won 18 of his 34 PGA Tour titles after the age of 41, including the 2004 US PGA Championship; Phil Mickelson won the 2013 Open at 43; Jack Nicklaus was 46 when winning the 1986 Masters.
Except, the cynic will point out that the new guard, featuring the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, have left him far behind and possess no fear.
Woods' majesty was never built solely on brute force. He had the best mind and was the finest tactician.
Woods won the 2006 Open using a four-iron and the 2008 US Open with a broken leg.
Woods simply knew how to win and, very likely, still does. Remember, the last time he boasted any sort of fitness was in 2013 - when he won five times and reclaimed the world No 1 status.
So, yes, now he is 1199th in the rankings and this weekend was only his seventh competitive round in 27 months. But there is a chance these could prove the first steps on one of sport's most remarkable resurrections.
Granted, it is only a slim chance to hang our hopes on. But that is all we hopeless romantics ever need...