Tiger Woods has admitted his recovery from back surgery isn’t as quick as he’d like, meaning he can’t put a date on his return to golf or even commit to a playing schedule.
The 49-year-old had disc replacement surgery in October but has only just been cleared to start chipping and fitting.
He hopes to play in the later stages of the TGL, a made-for-television indoor simulator event that ends in early March, but hasn’t yet thought about when his outdoor season will begin.
Woods turns 50 at the end of the month, which means he is eligible for the PGA Tour Championship season, but the 15-time major winner has yet to make any commitments on that front.
“It’s not as fast as I would like it to be. It was a good thing to do, something that needed to happen, it just takes time and commitment to the rehab process,” Woods said of his recovery.
“Unfortunately, I’ve already gone through this rehabilitation process and it’s step by step. Once I get a feel for the recovery process, I can decide where and when to play.”
“Let me come back to play again, let me do it and I’ll figure out a schedule. I just got cleared last week to chip and putt.”
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“It was six weeks last Friday (since the surgery) and it was slow.
“There’s not much you can do with a disc replacement, now we have the OK to start running it in the gym and start getting stronger.”
Asked why – at his injury-ridden age – he wanted to make another comeback, Woods, who hosts this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, added: “My passion to just play, I haven’t done that in a long time and it’s been a tough year.
“I had to sit on the sidelines for a few months this year and at the end of last year. I’d like to get back to just playing golf again.”
Despite turning 50 in December and dealing with numerous injuries, Woods says he wants to make another comeback
Woods hasn’t played in a tournament since the 2024 Open at Royal Crown and during his long stint on the sidelines, he’s taken a bigger role in shaping the game’s future, becoming chairman of the PGA Tour’s Futures Committee.
He has also been linked with the Ryder Cup captaincy for Adare Manor in 2027, having reportedly turned down the job for this year’s event, leading to Keegan Bradley unexpectedly taking the role.
Woods was in contact with US team staff and players involved with Betpage in September, but refused to confirm whether he wanted the Ireland job.
“No one asked me about that,” he said, and when asked to clarify his position, he just repeated: “No one asked me about that.”
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