Tiger Woods said on Tuesday that he is not physically ready to return to PGA Tour action and has a “long way to go” after undergoing another back procedure.
Speaking to reporters in Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge, Woods said that he is still rehabbing his back following September’s microdecompression surgery in the hopes he can be strong enough to reach his goal of playing at least once a month.
“I didn’t think my back was going to go like it did this year,” Woods said. “It was quite painful throughout the end of the year and hence I had another procedure done to it to alleviate the pain I had going down my leg.
“So whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don’t know. I’m just trying to rehab and still get stronger and better and feel better, really give myself the best chance I can going into next year.”
Woods, who will turn 49 on Dec. 30, played only five events in 2024, including all four majors for the first time since 2020. He needed to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February and later missed cuts at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open, while finishing 60th at the Masters.
The 15-time major champion announced last week that he was pulling out of this week’s Hero World Challenge, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, because he does not feel he is “tournament sharp” at the moment.
“No, I’m still not there,” Woods said. “And these are 20 of the best players in the world, and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. When I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will.”
After suffering major injuries during a February 2021 car wreck, Woods has continued to insist that he wants to play golf as long as he is able, despite the fact that there are growing calls for him to retire from some segments of the golf universe.
“The fire still burns to compete,” Woods said.
