Woods improving, but return not in sight
BETHESDA, Md. — Tiger Woods still doesn’t know when he will return to golf. For a while, he didn’t know whether he would return at all.
Woods said his back injury became so debilitating this year that it caused him to doubt his ability to play golf again.
“Forget about playing golf at the highest level. I couldn’t get out of bed,” Woods said yesterday, speaking at Congressional Country Club in his role as host of next month’s Quicken Loans National. “I was certainly doubtful at that point. What’s it going to feel like? Am I going to be pain-free? Am I going to be able to actually do this again, where I can get out of bed and go out there and play with my kids and play golf? All those things were up in the air.”
Woods said the doubt was erased after microdiscectomy surgery on March 31. He said the procedure, which relieved pain from a pinched nerve, provided immediate relief, although he said there’s still “no timetable” for his return to golf — or even for taking a full swing. As of now, he remains limited to chipping and putting.
“It’s not going to be up to me whether I play or not; it’s going to be up to my docs,” Woods said. “Obviously, I want to play now.”
But he offered no hint that he might be anything more than an onlooker for the Quicken Loans tournament on June 26-29 — or at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst two weeks earlier. He already has missed the Masters for the first time.
When Woods does return, he will resume his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories. Woods, 38, sounded as if the surgery has given him a new lease on playing for a good while.
“I would like to, as all athletes, go out on my own terms,” said Woods, who has won 14 majors.