Tiger Woods is back at the Hero World Challenge, although for the fourth time in five years he will not be playing, but will act solely as tournament host.
It is unclear when he will return to tournament action.
Speaking at a news conference in Albany, the Bahamas, on Tuesday, the 15-time champion said he is still unsure when he will return to competitive golf as he continues his rehabilitation after his latest back procedure. Woods underwent lumbar intervertebral surgery in October, which followed surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in March. In September 2024, he also underwent a procedure on his lower back.
Woods made five PGA Tour starts in 2024 (including one start) and later competed in the inaugural TGL season in early 2025 before his Achilles surgery sidelined him.
He said Tuesday that his rehabilitation has not progressed as quickly as he would like, although he was cleared to start chipping and putting last week.
“It’s slow going,” said Woods, speaking to the media for the first time since the last surgery. “I couldn’t do much about a disc replacement to get it to harden up. There’s not really much I can do. Now we’ve been cleared to crank up a little bit in the gym, started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven’t been able to do. Just letting the disc harden up a little bit.”
He will sit out this year’s PNC Championship – where he teams up with his son Charlie – and will miss the first part of the new TGL season, although he said he would be at every match his Jupiter Links team competes in.
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“Maybe play at the end of the [TGL] season here and there, but I don’t know,” he said. “I just started chipping and putting. I need to make more shots than just chipping and putting in TGL. There are a few rides I might have to take.
In 2024, Woods played all four majors plus the Genesis Invitational (although he withdrew mid-tournament with flu-like symptoms), where he also serves as tournament host. He was asked if he wanted to be ready to play Genesis 2026, which takes place Feb. 19-22 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, but he was noncommittal, saying the disc replacement will take time to repair.
“I’d like to just play golf again,” he said. “I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year. A lot of things have happened on and off the golf course that have been tough. And so I haven’t done my passion of just playing in a long time. Just playing. So I’ve had to be on the sidelines for a number of months, and most of this year and honestly the end of last year.”
With Woods’ injuries piling up and his 50th birthday (December 30) looming, he was also asked about his prospects for the Champions Tour. The Over-50 circuit features carts and consists of 54-hole tournaments, a format that could be intriguing for older legends, like Woods, who still have the competitive juices.
“I’m just looking forward to it, just let me get back to playing, 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 those kind of decisions, that kind of commitment level. Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before, it’s just step by step. Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can judge 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 best golfers in the world. Scottie Scheffler, number 1 in the world, has won the past two years and is once again the big betting favorite.
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