Tiger Woods: 'Recovery from my back operation not as fast as I'd like'

Woods had back surgery to replace a collapsed disc in his spine, but says the rehabilitation period has been slower than expected. Pic: Jane Barlow/PA

Tiger Woods admitted his recovery from a back operation is not as quick as he would like, meaning he cannot put a date on his return to golf or even commit to a playing schedule.

The 49-year-old had disc replacement surgery in October but has only just been cleared to start chipping and putting.

He is hoping to be able to play in the latter stages of the TGL, the indoor simulator made-for-television event which finishes in early March, but has not yet considered when his outdoor season will start.

Woods turns 50 at the end of the month, meaning he qualifies for the PGA Tour Champions season, but the 15-time major winner has not made any commitments on that front yet.

"It's not as fast as I'd like it to be. It was a good thing to do, something I needed to happen, it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process," said Woods of his recovery.

"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 decided where and when to play.

"Let me get back to playing again, let me do that and I'll figure out the schedule. I just got cleared last week to chip and putt.

"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."

Asked why - at his age with his injury history - he wanted to make yet another comeback, Woods, who is tournament host for this week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, added: "My passion to just play, I haven't done that in a long time and it's been a tough year.

"I've had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months of this year and the end of last year. I'd like to come back to just playing golf again."

Woods has not played in a tournament since the 2024 Open at Royal Troon and during his lengthy spell on the sidelines, he has taken a greater role in shaping the future of the game, becoming chairman of the PGA Tour Future Competition Committee.

He is also being linked with the Ryder Cup captaincy for Adare Manor in 2027, having reportedly turned down the job for this year's event which resulted in Keegan Bradley unexpectedly taking the role.

Woods was in contact with the United States team's backroom staff and players involved at Bethpage in September but refused to confirm whether he wanted the job for Ireland.

"No one's asked me about it," he said and when asked to clarify his position, he merely repeated: "No one's asked me about it."