NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods is less than three months removed from a microdecompression surgery meant to alleviate nerve impingement in his lower back.
So it makes sense that he walked cautiously into a news conference on Tuesday at the Albany Resort, where it was obvious he was not ready to play four days of golf at the Hero World Challenge.
A year ago at this same event, Woods finished 18th among 20 players and expressed optimism about playing once a month in 2024.
He ended up playing 11 total rounds of official golf.
“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. This year was kind of—I had to toss it away and I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be and I didn't play as much as I needed to going into the major championships and I didn’t play well at them.
“Hopefully next year will be better, I’ll be physically stronger and better. I know the procedure helped and hopefully that I can then build upon that.”
Woods has been plagued by numerous physical setbacks over the past decade. He’s had four microdiscectomies (2014, two in 2015 and 2020), the major 2017 spinal fusion surgery which led to a two-year run of excellence that saw him win a fifth Masters, multiple procedures in the aftermath of his 2021 car crash and then the latest back surgery on Sept. 13.
Although similar to a microdiscectomy, the decompression is not deemed quite as problematic although the recovery time is eight to 12 weeks and Woods had not ramped up any kind of golf practice.
“The pain that was going down my leg and the spasms were tough through the end of the year, so that's been alleviated,” Woods said. “I still don't quite walk right, but that's kind of an issue with my ankle.”
He has not made a decision on the Dec. 21-22 PNC Championship, a 36-hole exhibition he would play with his son Charlie and where he could use a golf cart. Afterward, Woods was asked about his readiness for the TGL simulator golf league he is part of and scheduled to first compete on Jan. 14. He expressed confidence he would participate then.
“I am disappointed,” Woods said in reference to missing his own event this week. “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.”
Woods, who turns 49 on Dec. 30, has competed in just 11 worldwide events since returning from the car crash and only five this year. He made the cut for the 24th straight time at the Masters but missed the cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and the British Open, his last appearance.
Although he offered no timetable, Woods would likely try to return in February at the Genesis Invitational, another tournament he hosts. He withdrew in the second round this year citing illness.
Woods acknowledged he’s had a lot of experience with this latest procedure.
“I think the best way to describe it is I know what to expect coming out of it,” Woods said. “The relief I had, I didn’t have a spasm, I didn’t have the nerve pain, so that was fantastic, but also understood that I still have a long road ahead of me of rehab and recovery.
“I wish I hadn’t known this, but I know it very well and I know the process, I know how long it’s going to take. We’ll continue doing all the gym work and continue doing all the protocols and eventually it will lead to something where I can compete again.”
Woods offered no timetable for a return but also suggested he does not want to rush given past experience.
“I’m just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off,” Woods said. “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.”
He added: “The fire still burns to compete. The difference is the recovery of the body to do it is not what it used to be. I still love doing it, I love competing, I love competing in anything whether we’re playing cards or we’re playing golf. No matter what it is, I love competing. That’s never going to leave. But as far as the recovery process of going out there and doing it again and again and again and doing it consistently at a high level, I can’t, for some reason the body just won’t recover like it used to. That’s part of age and part of an athlete’s journey.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Still Have a Long Road Ahead’: Tiger Woods Noncommittal on When He'll Play Again.