Tiger Woods admitted that he still has the fire to compete but acknowledged that he “has a long way to go” before he can return to professional golf.
At the Hero World Challenge, the tournament he is hosting in Bahamas, the 48-year-old athlete said that he will not play as he continues to recover from his back surgery last September.
Woods said: “I’m not physically ready yet to compete at this level… The times I have come back here, I was ready to start competing and playing again. Unfortunately, not this time. I still need to keep training to give myself the best chance going into next year and the events ahead.”
The 15-time major champion hasn’t competed since The Open in July, and his most recent back injury adds to his struggles. Woods stated that his body is not recovering like it used to.
“Nothing felt good and (an) MRI showed that,” Woods shared, adding that as 2024 progressed, his ‘back kept progressively getting worse to the point where it just wasn’t getting better.’
The athlete added: “I’m just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off… I don’t want to have any setbacks, just want to keep making progress and give myself the best chance going into next year as possible. I feel like I’m getting stronger, I’m getting more pliable, but I’ve got a long way to go to be able to compete against these guys.”
However, he reaffirmed his intention to play professionally as soon as he is physically capable.
“I’m not tournament sharp yet. I’m still not there… These are 20 of the best players in the world and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will,” Woods shared.
Source: CNN