Nassau, Nov 30 (US): Tiger Woods says he expects to play golf again, only more often, and doesn’t see himself reaching the top of the sport again because “I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation I am.”
He says he can see himself picking out certain tournaments to play, but not a full-time schedule.
His extended video interview with Golf Digest, with whom he has a financial relationship, was released Monday ahead of his first press conference since his right leg was badly damaged in a car crash on February 23 in suburban Los Angeles, the AP reports.
Woods is the tournament host for the World Champion Challenge.
The 15-time main champ raised hopes of another comeback when Woods posted a three-second video of him pressing a short iron with the message “Make progress.”
It didn’t make it seem like a comeback was around the corner.
“I have a lot to go,” he said. “I’m not even halfway. I have a lot of muscle growth and nerve development to do in my legs. At the same time, you know, I’ve had five back surgeries. So I have to deal with that. So the stronger the leg gets, The back might move sometimes.”
Woods was recovering from another backache at the start of the year when he ran his SUV over an average and fell down a steep hill on a winding thoroughfare in suburban Los Angeles on the way to a televised photo session at a golf course.
Doctors said he shattered the shin bone and fibula in his right leg in multiple locations. It was fixed by a rod in the shin. A combination of screws and pins was used to stabilize additional ankle and foot injuries.
He last played in the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, then underwent a fifth back operation that kept him out for the first part of the year before the accident.
Woods had already made an impressive comeback, winning the Masters in 2019 after fusion surgery, and fourth on his lower back. He won the Zozo Championships in Japan later this year for his 82nd career win on the PGA Tour, tying Sam Snead with the all-time record.
“I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to live a great life. After my back melted, I had to climb Mount Everest again. I had to do it, and I did. This time, I don’t think I would have the body to climb Mount Everest, And that’s OK. I can still play golf. I can still, if my leg is okay, I can still get out of the tournament here or there.
“But in terms of climbing the mountain again and getting to the top, I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation of me.”
Woods will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in March. The master’s program is the first full week of April. Woods didn’t have a schedule, only because he wished the recovery had been faster than it had been.
He said he could envision a career like Ben Hogan after a near-fatal car accident. Hogan played a limited schedule, although he still dominated the majors, including winning all three he played in 1953.
“I think the realistic thing is to play the tour someday – he won’t work full time again – but pick and choose, just like Mr. Hogan did. Pick and pick some events of the year as you play on the field.”
“I think that’s how I’m going to have to play from now on,” he said. “It is an unfortunate reality, but it is my reality. I understand that, and I accept it.”