Tiger Woods has admitted his recovery from recent surgery has been progressing slower than hoped, leaving him unable to set a date for his return to competitive golf.
The 15-time major winner shared an update on Tuesday after he underwent his seventh back surgery of his career in October to address a collapsed disc in his spine. Prior to that, the 49-year-old had been in the process of recovering from an achilles surgery to repair a ruptured left achilles suffered in March.
“It’s not as fast as I’d like it to be,” he stated in a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge, an event hosted by Woods. “It was a good thing to do, something I needed to happen, it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process.
“Unfortunately I’ve been through this rehab process before and it’s step-by-step. Once I get a feel for the recovery process, I can decide where and when to play.
“It’s been six weeks last Friday [since the operation] and it’s been slow.
“You can’t really do much with a disc replacement, now we have the OK to start cranking it up in the gym and start strengthening.”
Since 2020, Woods has only made 11 competitive appearances with his most recent coming at the Open Championship in July 2024 due to injuries taking a toll on his later years on the professional circuit.
Woods previously aimed to make his return at the tech-infused indoor golf league, TGL, but has stated that he will not be able to compete in the first part of the 2026 TGL season. He also confirmed he will miss the PNC Championship in mid-December, an event he has traditionally taken part in alongside his son Charlie.
“I just started to chip and putt, I just started to lift in the gym, I just started this process. A disc replacement takes time,” Woods added. “It’s not as long as a fusion, thank God, but it’s going to take time.”
When asked on why he wants to come back at his age, Woods said: “I’d like to come back to just playing golf again. I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year.
“I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that’s been tough. And so my passion to just play, I haven’t done that in a long time. Just play.”