Tiger is facing a tough road back

– Jack Nicklaus says Tiger Woods (right) will have a very difficult time making a comeback to competitive golf as he deals with physical injury issues and undergoes treatment for managing medications.

Speaking Monday to USA Today at a charity tournament in Virginia, the winner of a record 18 Major titles was not optimistic in the wake of Woods’s arrest last month for driving while impaired and back surgery Woods revealed in April he has undergone.

“He’ll have a very hard time. I don’t know whether Tiger will play much golf anymore,” Nicklaus said.

“He might come back and play – I think it would be pretty tough for him, after getting (his spine) fused and as many problems as he has had recently.

“His are more life problems than they are golf problems.”

Woods will not appear at this week’s PGA National tournament in suburban Washington because he continues to undergo treatment for managing medications for back pain and a sleeping disorder, issues Woods revealed last week in a Twitter posting.

Woods ranks second in Major titles with 14 and in PGA career titles with 79, three shy of Sam Snead’s record total. But Nicklaus said Woods will not have his legacy defined merely by golf titles.

“Whether he plays golf or not, I think he has got an awful lot to offer the youth of the country and the game itself,” Nicklaus said. – AFP