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Tiger Woods isn’t playing this week’s Hero World Challenge — but he’s still making his presence felt.

Woods, whose pre-tournament press conference included some hints about a change in direction for the PGA Tour, has been on property at Albany throughout the week serving as tournament host. On Saturday he stalked the range pre-round, visiting with contenders — including Sweden’s Alex Noren, who he chatted up and queried about his swing.

We’ve seen and heard plenty of evidence already this week that Woods is invested in the modern game; read how Woods described what he admires about the game of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler:

“Of Scottie’s game? Yeah, I truly love watching him hit irons, the shaped shots that he hits, the trajectory, the window changes that he has, the distance control, the miss in the proper spot, the proper spin in certain pin locations,” Woods said. “These are all subtle things that mean a lot over the course of 72 holes. That to me is impressive. If you don’t have trajectory control, you can’t have distance control. To see him move it up and down in different windows, use wind, fight wind and control spin is fun to watch.”

(That was just part of his answer.)

Noren is a fascinating guy to watch practice given his unique pre-shot routines and his inclination to dig it out of the dirt. He’s also at a fascinating place in his career, the kind of guy who served as assistant captain for this year’s European Ryder Cup team but also nearly played his way onto it.

Whatever Woods said to Noren had a positive effect: he started par-birdie-eagle and played his way into the penultimate final-round pairing after a five-under 67. He’ll start Sunday’s final round in T3, three shots off Sepp Straka’s lead and two behind World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Noren won DP World Tour events in August and September and played his way inside the top 20 in the world; one more top finish would cap off a strong final third to his year.

“Last year I took a lot of time off and kind of worked a lot on my game, but this year I tried to play more tournaments this end of the season,” Noren said. “You see where you’re at for next year. Then I have about a month and a half to kind of fix the things that I don’t like right now and fine-tune it.”

As for his visit with Woods? Noren could only grin.

“Yeah, it’s amazing. I grew up idolizing Tiger,” he said. “That was a perfect time in my life. I was 18 in 2000, 16 in ’98 when he kind of came on. So yeah, I mean, I have so much respect for him and admiration.

“And seeing him out there and asking questions and — not that he’s asking questions for his own [benefit], but I think he just loves golf and it was good to talk to him.”

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

SHOW SUMMARY:In this weekâ€s Interview Classic podcasts, we’re jumping back to two interviews – one from Paul Heyman and another from Bob Roop.

Ten years ago this week, we published a PWTorch editor Wade Keller’s interview with Paul Heyman from 1992 that aired live on his KFAN Pro Wrestling Focus radio show. In this interview, Heyman predicts super-stardom for Steve Austin and explains why he never paid for a wrestling ticket. This show also includes news coverage at the start of the and live callers.

Then we present the Dec. 2, 2015 episode of the PWTorch Livecast when Pat McNeill interviewed Bob Roop, a territory veteran wrestler who reacted to Raw from earlier in the week, his thoughts on the terms “jobber” and “enhancement talent,” who was the most over-pushed wrestler in WCW, the Authority taking up so much TV time, WWE asking which other TV shows fans watch, Charlotte mentioning the death or Reid on the air, and more.

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DENVER — Defenseman Erik Johnson announced his retirement Wednesday after a 17-year career that was highlighted by a 2022 Stanley Cup title with the Colorado Avalanche.

Picked No. 1 in the 2006 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues, Johnson was traded to the Avalanche as part of a blockbuster deal in 2011. He played in 1,023 regular-season games with the Blues, Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. He finished with 95 goals, 253 assists, 1,717 blocks and 1,695 hits.

The 37-year-old Johnson has long been a fan favorite in Denver, where he spent 14 of his 17 seasons. His most iconic moment, though, may have taken place away from the ice. He led the crowd in the singing of “All the Small Things,” by Blink-182 after the parade to celebrate Colorado hoisting the Stanley Cup. It was the theme song that season.

In a statement, Johnson said: “I am retiring with a heart full of gratitude.”

He thanked organizations, teammates, coaches, staff members, family, friends and, of course, the fans.

“Your passion made every moment unforgettable,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s 14 seasons in Colorado — 2011 to 2022-23, along with a return late last season — trails only Adam Foote (17) for most seasons among Avalanche/Nordiques blueliners. His 731 regular-season games in an Avalanche sweater are also second only to Foote (967) among the franchise’s defensemen.

The player known as “EJ” is first in franchise history in blocked shots (1,373) and third in hits (1,288) among defensemen. The Bloomington, Minnesota, product leaves the NHL rink 25th on the most games played list among American-born defenseman in league history.

His first NHL game was with St. Louis on Oct. 4, 2007, against the then-Phoenix Coyotes. He had an assist on a goal by Keith Tkachuk.

His last regular-season game was with Colorado on April 13 at the Anaheim Ducks. He scored an empty-net goal. Johnson also played in two games in the first-round series against the Dallas Stars, where the Avalanche lost in seven.

“Hockey has been my life, and I’m grateful for every second,” Johnson said. “I’m excited for what’s next and will always cherish this journey.”

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AJ Styles is set to hang up his boots soon. The former WWE Champion announced that he would be retiring in 2026, following the retirememt tour of fellow former champion John Cena. In a new interview with “Busted Open,” one of Styles’s compatriots from WWE and TNA, Eric Young, had high praise for the former TNA X Division Champion.

“You could argue that he’s maybe one of, if not the best, to do it, bell-to-bell, ever,” Young said. “And for me, more importantly, he’s an unbelievable man, you know? A good person. And he’s never changed. He’s the exact same AJ Styles that I met in 2004. Smarter. Maybe not quite as athletic or as quick. We’re all gonna slow down, AJ. Sorry about that. The guy’s got a legacy a mile long.”

Young says that AJ has a case to be on a pro wrestling “Mount Rushmore.” Young doesn’t feel there are many wrestlers who could squeeze Styles out of his top 4 or 5 list.

“Most importantly, he’s just an unbelievable human being, and I’m proud to call him my friend,” Young gushed.

Styles is set to face John Cena one last time, as the two former WWE Champions will battle in Australia at the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel event. Cena had been paying homage to Styles in his retirement matches, and both men had bemoaned not wrestling each other as a way to gin up fan interest in the match without using up Cena’s few remaining appearances.

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Two 37-year-olds with a combined 154 Korn Ferry Tour starts are among the five reinstated amateurs who have reached the…