Tiger Woods, who underwent another hip surgery in September, is not among the 20 players competing in this week's Hero World Challenge.
But instead of injecting optimism into the golf world on Tuesday about his future playing prospects and saying he could win again, Woods took an overall rather pessimistic attitude about his health. He could potentially play “once a month” through the 2024 season.
Woods also admitted that he injured his lower back earlier this year and that it has become “pretty sore” as the year has gone on. This explains why he went under the knife again about three months ago.
“I'm not tournament savvy yet. I'm not there yet,” Woods said.
“They're 20 of the best players in the world, but I'm not sharp enough to compete with them at this level. When I'm ready to compete and play at this level, I will.”
Woods added that he has “no idea” when he will play next. However, he did not rule out competing in the PNC Championship in two weeks. However, during that event he has access to a golf cart and can rely on his son Charlie. Still, no one knows if Woods will be ready for February's Genesis Invitational or the 2025 Masters at Augusta National in April.
But all of this doesn't diminish the fact that Woods still wants to compete. The problem is that he turns 49 on December 30th.
“The fire to compete is still burning,” Woods added.
“The difference is that my body's recovery is not what it used to be. I still love doing it. I love competing. I love competing in anything, whether it's cards or golf. No matter what, I love to compete. It never goes away. But when it comes to the recovery process, I can't do it over and over again and at a consistently high level. ..The body doesn't recover like it used to. And that's part of age.”
Unfortunately, Father Time remains undefeated, and the feeling Tuesday in the Bahamas is that Woods has come to accept that reality. No one knows when the golf world will see him play again, much less at the highest level.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
