Tiger Woods was back on a golf course, but not how millions of his fans want him to.
It’s been six weeks since Woods had a lumbar disc replacement surgery, and in his first press conference since then, at the Hero World Challenge that benefits his foundation, the most successful golfer in the history of the sport said he did not have any timeline for a comeback.
The good news is that the 15-time major champion started chipping and putting about a week ago. From here, to getting back to the swing speed that he requires to compete against some of the best in the game today, will be a long, arduous road.
“I don’t know. I just started to chip and putt and I just started to lift in the gym. A disc replacement takes time. It’s not as long as a fusion (his earlier procedures), thank God, but it’s going to take time,” said Woods, whose last competitive outing was the Open Championship in July 2024.
“I’m just looking forward to just get back to playing again. Let me do that and then I’ll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be. I’m a ways away from that part and that type of decision, that type of commitment level.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before, it’s just step by step. I need time to figure this out with my back and with my body. As I start to get more explosive and start to rotate and see what I’ve got, then I can find out or assess what tournaments I could play in, how much I should play, where I would like to play. I really haven’t gone in depth of what the schedule looks like.
“But it’s great to be back here at Albany hosting the Hero World Challenge and seeing some of the guys.”
Woods said he had been aware that his disc needed to be replaced, but tried to delay it when he was playing a few tournaments last year.
Asked if there was a moment when he felt his back go, Woods said: “Not a moment, it just regressed. I had a procedure last year in September to buy me a little time. Unfortunately, I blew my Achilles at the beginning of the year, so that set me back. As I tried to come back, my back was feeling a bit wonky. Did an MRI and didn’t look very good, so we decided to have a procedure.”
Woods also kept the suspense on his plans for the Ryder Cup. The talk is that he will be offered the captaincy for 2027 when the competition is held in Adare Manor in Ireland.
In typical Woods style, he neither confirmed nor denied it.
“No one’s asked me about it,” was his response twice to Ryder Cup-captaincy related questions.