Tiger Woods says his back is in better shape but he “still has a long way to go” and “is not competitive at the moment” as he prepares to return to action at the PNC Championship.
Fifteen-time major champion Woods will play alongside 15-year-old son Charlie for the fifth time at the annual parent-and-child event in Florida, live on Sky Sports across Saturday and Sunday.
The 48-year-old underwent surgery in September to alleviate “back spasms and pain” having made only 11 competitive starts since his career-threatening car crash in February 2021 which also severely injured his right leg.
Woods opted against playing in the Hero World Challenge – the tournament he hosts – earlier this month and admitted there were times he thought he may miss out on teaming up with his son, too.
Speaking on Friday, Woods said: “My leg is what it is. It’s still here. But this year I struggled a lot with my back and it’s a lot better. But I still have a long way to go.”
Tiger: Road to recovery ‘hard’ and ‘frustrating’
On potentially having to pull out of the PNC Championship, Woods added: “I had moments.
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Charlie Woods helped dad Tiger on the range ahead of the final round of The Masters at Augusta National in April
“That was one of the reasons why I had the surgery done earlier, so that hopefully I could give myself the best chance to be with Charlie and be able to play.
“I’m not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again.
“This has always been one of the bigger highlights of the year for us as a family, and now we get to have that moment together again.
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“Preparing for competitive play is different. That takes months, weeks. But it starts with each and every day. You just do the little things, the mundane, correctly, and they add up.
“Unfortunately I’ve gone through this process a number of times. It’s frustrating. I have an amazing team but I have to do the little things on a daily basis and away from everybody. It’s hard.”
Woods: Scheffler will have unbelievable year
Woods handed the Hero World Challenge trophy to Scottie Scheffler after the world No 1 secured his 16th victory in under three years by successfully retaining that title in The Bahamas.
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Highlights from the fourth round of the Hero World Challenge as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler retained the title
Scheffler has won nine times in 2024 alone, including a second major at The Masters and Olympic gold in Paris, with Woods believing his fellow American’s success will continue.
Woods said of Scheffler: “I think that it’s just that consistency over the course of the last couple years. He moves around a lot in his swing, but if you watch that ball flight, it doesn’t really do a whole lot.
“He has an amazing feel for hitting the ball the right number. That’s just something that is innate.
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“I think how he’s handled the pressure and the expectations… he’s doing an unbelievable job. He’s just coming into his own. This is the fun part of watching him develop. This is going to be the start of an unbelievable year.
“We can all make errors, we can all have hot runs. But how good is your bad? Everyone’s good is good out there, but his bad is really impressive.
“He doesn’t do a whole lot wrong, understands how to not compound mistakes. Not making mistakes adds up.”
Watch the PNC Championship live on Sky Sports Golf across the weekend. Saturday’s coverage begins at 4pm with Sunday’s action picking up at 4.30pm. Stream the tournament with NOW.
