Tiger Woods has admitted he is still a long way from being ready to make a return to competitive golf.
It’s almost exactly a year since Woods sustained incredibly serious injuries in a car crash, which left him close to having a leg amputated.
His first tournament since that accident was the PNC Championship in December, where he played alongside his son Charlie in a far more relaxed setting that the PGA Tour environment.
Woods has refused to put a specific timetable on his recovery or when he hopes to make a return, and with less than two months to go until The Masters at Augusta, the 46-year-old once again made it clear how far he still has to go.
“Man, I wish I could tell you when I will play again,” he said. “I’m still working on the walking part.
“I can still play, but I’m in a cart. Being a weekend warrior is easy, that’s not that hard. Hit your ball, hop in a cart, ride, barely step out of the cart, grab your club and hit the next one.
“And the longest walk you have is probably from, what, the cart to the green and back. I can do that, that’s not that hard, but walking a golf course, that’s a totally different deal.
“Then walking out here for days on end, long days. Don’t forget when my back was bad, when we had rain delays and had to reactivate everything and go back out there again. I’ve still got that issue, too. I’ve got a long way to go.”
Woods showed plenty of promising signs when playing alongside his son before Christmas, but speaking at the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts, on Wednesday, he revealed he has been unable to put in much work on his long game.
Despite downplaying expectations about when he will make his return to the tour, Woods does still believe he will be in a position to play again.
“My golf activity has been very limited,” Woods said.
“I can chip and putt really well and hit short irons very well, but I haven’t done any long stuff seriously.
“What’s frustrating is it’s not at my timetable. I want to be at a certain place, but I’m not. I’ve just got to continue working.
“I’m getting better, yes, but as I said, not at the speed and rate that I would like. You add in the age factor, too. You just don’t quite heal as fast, which is frustrating.
“Do I think I will be able to play a few events here and there in the future? Yes, I do.”
