Tiger Woods gives rehab update, return status: ‘It’s been slow’

Tiger Woods is back to World Challenge of Heroesalthough for the fourth time in five years he will not play, instead serving only as the tournament’s host.

It is not known when he will return to the tournament.

At a news conference in Albany in the Bahamas on Tuesday, the 15-time major champion said he still isn’t sure when he will return to competitive golf as he continues to rehabilitate his injury. last back procedure. Woods underwent mid-disc replacement surgery in October, which followed surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in March. He also had a lower back procedure in September 2024.

Woods made five PGA Tour starts in 2024 (making one cut) and later competed in the inaugural TGL season in early 2025 before his Achilles surgery sidelined him.

He said Tuesday that his rehab hasn’t progressed as quickly as he’d like, even though he was cleared to start snapping and setting last week.

“It’s been slow,” Woods said, speaking to the media for the first time since his latest surgery. “There’s not much I can do with a disc replacement to let it set in. There’s not much I can do. Now we’ve gotten it right to start getting up a little bit in the gym, started getting stronger and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven’t been able to do. We just let the disc settle in.”

He will attend this year’s PNC Championship – where he is joined by his son, Charlie – and will miss the first half of the new TGL seasonalthough he said he would be at every game where his Jupiter Links team competes.

“Maybe he’ll play at the end of the (TGL) season here and there, but I don’t know,” he said. “I just started knocking and decided. I need to hit more than just chip and putt at TGL. There are some drives I might need to hit.”

In 2024, Woods played all four concerts plus the Genesis Invitational (although he withdrew mid-tournament with flu-like symptoms), where he also doubles as the tournament host. He was asked if he wants to be ready to play Genesis 2026, which is Feb. 19-22 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, but was noncommittal and said rehab from the disc replacement takes time.

“I’d like to get back to just playing golf again,” he said. “I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that have been tough. And so my passion for playing, I haven’t done that in a long time. I just play. So I’ve had to be off the course for a few months, and most of this year, and quite honestly.”

With Woods’ injuries and his 50th birthday (December 30) looming, he was also asked about his prospects on the Champions Tour. The over-50 circuit allows carts and consists of 54-hole tournaments, a formula that could be intriguing for aging legends like Woods who still have competitive juices.

“I’m just looking forward, let me get back to playing again, let me do that and then I’ll figure out what the schedule is going to be,” Woods said. “I’m a long way from that part of it and that kind of decision, that kind of commitment level. Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before, it’s just one step at a time. Once I get a feel for the practice, the breakout, the game, the recovery process, then I can gauge where I’m going to play and how much I’m going to play.”

The Hero World Challenge, an unofficial PGA Tour event, features 20 of the world’s best players. World number 1 Scottie Scheffler has won the last two years and is again the heavy betting favourite.