Tiger: It’s great to be back

TIGER Woods admitted there had been “some pretty dire times” during his 15-month injury absence after a closing 76 saw him finish 15th overall at t h e H e r o Wo r l d Challenge, 14 shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama.

The 14-time Major winner, who came through 72 holes unscathed in the 18-man event in the Bahamas, had three double bogeys, t hree bogeys and five birdies as he finished with his worst round of the week.

However, the 40-year-old i nsisted he was delighted to be competing again after two back operations.

“There were some pretty dire times when I couldn’t move,” Woods said.

“You just lay there and you can’t move — those are scary times.

“It’s great to be back playing against the best players in the world but unfortunately I made a lot of mistakes this week.

“I made some poor decisions.

“Getting my lights back and my body back and focusing for a long period of time — these are things I’ve missed for a year and a half.

“I made some birdies this week, which is nice.

“I always want to be aggressive but I made some bad mistakes — you can’t make two sevens.

“The pain and issues I’ve had . . . it was just rough.”

A sparkling 65 on Friday had briefly thrust Woods into contention but there were signs of rust in the final round.

Japan’s Matsuyama carded a closing 73 to take the title on 18 under, two clear of Open champion Henrik Stenson.

Tiger Woods