Tiger Woods says his again is in higher form however he “still has a long way to go” and “is not competitive at the moment” as he prepares to return to motion on the PNC Championship.
Fifteen-time main champion Woods will play alongside 15-year-old son Charlie for the fifth time on the annual 36-hole parent-and-child occasion in Florida, reside on Sky Sports activities throughout Saturday and Sunday.
The 48-year-old underwent surgical procedure in September to alleviate “back spasms and pain” having made solely 11 aggressive begins since his career-threatening automotive crash in February 2021 which additionally severely injured his proper leg.
Woods opted in opposition to enjoying within the Hero World Problem – the event he hosts – earlier this month and admitted there have been occasions he thought he could miss out on teaming up together with his son, too.
Talking on Friday, forward of his first event for the reason that Open Championship at Royal Troon in July, Woods stated: “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: Highway to restoration ‘exhausting’ and ‘irritating’
On probably having to tug out of the PNC Championship, Woods added: “I had moments.
“That was one of many the reason why I had the surgical procedure completed earlier, in order that hopefully I might give myself the perfect likelihood to be with Charlie and be capable of play.
“I’m not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again.
“This has at all times been one of many greater highlights of the yr for us as a household, and now we get to have that second collectively once more.
Get the perfect costs and guide a spherical at considered one of 1,700 programs throughout the UK & Eire
“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.
“Sadly I’ve gone by this course of quite a lot of occasions. It is irritating. I’ve an incredible group however I’ve to do the little issues each day and away from everyone. It is exhausting.”
Woods: Scheffler could have unbelievable yr
Woods handed the Hero World Problem trophy to Scottie Scheffler after the world No 1 secured his sixteenth victory in underneath three years by efficiently retaining that title in The Bahamas.
Scheffler has gained 9 occasions in 2024 alone, together with a second main at The Masters and Olympic gold in Paris, with Woods believing his fellow American’s success will proceed.
Woods stated 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 incredible really feel for hitting the ball the fitting quantity. That is simply one thing that’s innate.
“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 will all make errors, we are able to all have scorching runs. However how good is your unhealthy? Everybody’s good is nice on the market, however his unhealthy is de facto spectacular.
“He doesn’t do a whole lot wrong, understands how to not compound mistakes. Not making mistakes adds up.”
Watch the PNC Championship reside on Sky Sports activities Golf throughout the weekend. Saturday’s protection begins at 4pm with Sunday’s motion selecting up at 4.30pm. Stream the event with NOW.