Last year, legendary golfer Tiger Woods said he wanted to compete in at least one PGA Tour event every month. But it doesn’t sound like that will be happening anytime soon.
Earlier this year, Tiger Woods had surgery on his back to alleviate some pain he was experiencing at the end of last season. But at a press conference ahead of this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods confirmed that he still has a “long way to go” before he is ready to compete again.
Woods underwent microdecompression surgery, which he hopes will allow him to return to the golf course more regularly going forward.
Woods said that he decided to get the surgery as a result of how much pain he was feeling at the end of the year.
“I didn’t think my back was going to go like it did this year,” Woods said according to Fox News. “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.”
Woods had previously indicated that he wanted to compete in at least one PGA Tour event each month. But he does not know whether or not he can commit to that given his health.
“So, whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don’t know,” Woods said.
Woods said that once he fully recovers from the surgery and is swinging the golf club well enough by his standards, he will consider returning to play.
Now, however, he does not feel he is ready.
“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.”
This is obviously horrible news for anyone who hoped to see him back to full health for his Hero World Challenge, which benefits The Tiger Woods Foundation.
But it’s clear Tiger is doing everything he can to get back to full health.
Woods turns 49 this month and has dealt with a number of injuries in recent years that have derailed his career. But insisted that “the fire still burns to compete.”
[Fox News]
