Tiger Woods says he’s ‘got a long way to go’ before being ready to return to competitive golf

Tiger Woods said that he’s “got a long way to go” before he can make a return to professional golf, but insists the “fire still burns to compete.”

Tiger Woods said that he’s “got a long way to go” before he can make a return to professional golf but insisted the “fire still burns to compete.” Woods was speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, a tournament he hosts. The 48-year-old is not playing this week as he continues to recover from a back surgery he underwent in September. The 15-time major winner has not played since The Open in July and the recent back problem continues Woods’ struggles with injuries, with the golf star saying that “the body just won’t recover like it used to.” “I’m not physically ready yet to compete at this level,” Woods said. “The times I have come back here, I was ready to start competing and playing again. Unfortunately, not this time. I still need to keep training to give myself the best chance going into next year and the events ahead.” Woods said that as 2024 went on, his back “just kept progressively getting worse to the point where it just wasn’t getting better either from treatments or laying around resting.” He added that “nothing felt good and (an) MRI showed that.” “I’m just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off,” Woods said. “I don’t want to have any setbacks, just want to keep making progress and give myself the best chance going into next year as possible. I feel like I’m getting stronger, I’m getting more pliable, but I’ve got a long way to go to be able to compete against these guys.”