Tiger Woods unsure on latest injury comeback date in 2025 but insists 'fire still burns to compete'

3 December 2024, 15:57 | Updated: 4 December 2024, 07:59

Tiger Woods has admitted he is unsure whether he will return to action after being “not sharp enough” to feature at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

The former world No 1 has only made 11 competitive starts since his career-threatening car crash in February 2021, with Woods missing the cut in three of the four majors this season.

Woods underwent surgery in September to alleviate "back spasms and pain" that hampered his limited playing schedule, with the 48-year-old unable to make his latest comeback at the event he hosts.

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"I'm not tournament sharp yet," Woods said in his pre-tournament press conference. "I'm still not there. These are 20 of the best players in the world and I'm not sharp enough to compete again.

"I am disappointed. I'm just not physically ready yet to compete at this level. 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 withdrew during the second round of February's Genesis Invitational due to illness and then finished last of those who made the cut at The Masters, before making early exits at the PGA Championship, US Open and The Open.

"I didn't think my back was going to go like it did this year," Woods explained. "It was quite painful throughout the end of the year and hence I had another procedure done to it to alleviate the pain I had going down my leg.

"Whether my commitment going forward is once a month [like he targeted for 2024], yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don't know. I'm just trying to rehab and still get stronger and better and feel better, really give myself the best chance I can going into next year.

"This year was kind of - I had to toss it away and I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be and I didn't play as much as I needed to going into the major championships and I didn't play well at them.

"Hopefully next year will be better, I'll be physically stronger and better. I know the procedure helped and hopefully that I can then build upon that."

Woods was inside the world's top five in 2019, the year he claimed his fifth Masters victory before adding a record-equalling 82nd PGA Tour title at the Zozo Championship, but has since dropped outside of the world's top 1,000 due to his limited playing schedule.

"The fire still burns to compete," Woods added. "The difference is the recovery of the body to do it is not what it used to be. I still love doing it, I love competing.

"I love competing in anything, whether we're playing cards or we're playing golf. No matter what it is, I love competing. That's never going to leave.

"As far as the recovery process of going out there and doing it again and again and again and doing it consistently at a high level, I can't. For some reason, the body just won't recover like it used to. That's part of age and part of an athlete's journey."

Who will win the Hero World Challenge? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports! Live coverage begins on Thursday from 6.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.

(c) Sky Sports 2024: Tiger Woods unsure on latest injury comeback date in 2025 but insists 'fire still burns to compete'