Woods' recovery from surgery slower than expected, no timeline for return

As for the Ryder Cup, he turned down the captaincy for this year and is thought to be the logical choice for Adare Manor in 2027.

2022: Tiger Woods of USA, left, and businessman JP McManus during day one of the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor Golf Club. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Tiger Woods says his recovery from the disc replacement surgery he had in October was not going as fast as he would like and that he was still "a ways away" from figuring out a playing schedule.

The first question for Woods during his media availability ahead of this week's Hero World Challenge that he hosts in Albany, Bahamas, was about the state of his rehabilitation following the latest setback in a string of injuries that have stalled his return to the PGA Tour.

"It's not as fast as I would like it to be," said Woods, who has not competed since missing the British Open cut in July 2024. "It was a good thing to do, something I needed to have happen and it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process."

The 15-times major champion, who also had surgery in March to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon, said he got clearance last week to resume chipping and putting for the first time since undergoing the lumbar disc replacement surgery.

"You can't really do much on a disc replacement, you have to let it set," said Woods. "We got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym, I've started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven't been able to do and just letting the disc set."

Woods turns 50 on December 30 and will be eligible for the PGA Tour Champions in 2026 but he was not yet ready to say when, or if, he will compete on the senior circuit.

"I am just looking forward to, let me get back to playing again. Let me do that and then I will kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be," said Woods.

"I am a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision and that type of commitment level.

"Unfortunately I have been through this rehab process before, it is just step-by-step, and once I get a feel for practising, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I am going to play and how much I'll play."

Woods, who was supposed to make his TGL Season 2 debut in January, also said he hopes to still compete next year in the indoor golf league he co-founded with Rory McIlroy, but not until closer to the end of the season.

He has just been cleared to chip and putt since a seventh back surgery on October 10. 

As for the Ryder Cup, he turned down the captaincy for this year and was thought to be the logical choice for Adare Manor in 2027.

“No one's asked me about it,” Woods said and then repeated it for effect, accompanied by a smirk.

That's not to say there hasn't been plenty of discussions between the PGA of America and Woods' manager. Woods can say a lot with few words.  Translation: He's not ready to talk about that yet.

What's consuming his time is the one area that doesn't involve birdies and bogeys, and it might be far more important than whether he tees it up at the Masters or joins the 50-and-older circuit on the PGA Tour Champions a few times next year.

Woods is chair of the Future Competitions Committee, which new CEO Brian Rolapp commissioned to make significant change to the PGA Tour. 

Woods said the committee has met three times and taken input from everyone from title sponsors to television to tournament directors.

What began as a blank sheet of paper now has a thousand ideas. The hope is to have a new model by the start of the 2027 season. What emerges is unclear except it will be uncomfortable. Change isn't easily accepted.

“Yes, there's going to be some eggs that are spilled and crushed and broken,” Woods said. “But I think that in the end, we're going to have a product that is far better than what we have now for everyone involved.” 

The three principles driving Rolapp's vision are parity, simplicity and scarcity. It's the scarcity that has so many players nervous — fewer tournaments, shorter fields, slimmer odds for players who can't just show up and expect to contend the way Woods once did, and the way Scottie Scheffler does now.

“But don’t forget, the golfing year is long,” Woods said. “So there’s other opportunities and other places around the world or other places to play that can be created and have events. So there’s a scarcity side of it that’s not as scary as people might think.” 

Rolapp also soothed some concerns about a star-driven tour when he said on the CNBC “CEO Council Forum” last week, "Every sport has stars. What really makes sports work is the middle class. ... You cannot build a lifelong sport that outlives the stars if you don't build a system that works beyond your stars.” 

There was nothing middle class about Woods.

His legacy will be 82 titles on the PGA Tour, his 15 majors, the only player to hold all four major championships at the same time, the player who went more than seven years without missing a cut. And now, his leadership on a committee to reshape the PGA Tour could add to that.

Woods is motivated to play again because he simply loves golf. That chapter is not over.

This will be the first year without competing in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament since he made his debut in 1992 at age 16 in the Los Angeles Open (he played the PNC Championship in 2021 after missing the entire season after his car crash in Los Angeles).

Woods lost his mother in February. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in March. And then came another back surgery in October. So when he was asked why he wanted to stage yet another comeback, Woods smiled and replied, “Come back to what point?” 

“I'd like to come back to just playing golf again,” Woods said. His last documented round was February 9 with USA President Donald Trump. “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.” 

Woods has played only 11 times in nearly five years since his 2021 car crash.  The four tournaments where he completed 72 holes, the closest he has been to the winning score was 16 shots behind. He has played 29 rounds and broken par six times. His scoring average is 74.14.

“The PGA Tour gave me an opportunity to chase after a childhood dream,” he said. “This is a different opportunity to make an impact on the tour. I did it with my golf clubs. 

"Now I am able to make an impact in a different way for generations to come — not just generations that I played against, but for future generations like a 16-year-old looking for a place to play and maybe in hopes of playing the PGA Tour.” 

At the moment, that's his biggest challenge.

AP/Reuters