Woods laments slow recovery and has no return date

Tiger Woods says his recovery from disc replacement surgery has been "slow", with no date currently set for his return.

The 49-year-old has been sidelined since missing the cut at The Open in July 2024.

He had surgery in October this year after "experiencing pain and lack of mobility" in his back.

It was his seventh back procedure in the past decade.

"It's not as fast as I'd like it to be. It was a good thing to do, something I needed to happen, it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process," Woods said on his recovery.

"Unfortunately I've been through this rehab process before and it's step-by-step.

"It's been six weeks last Friday [since the operation] and it's been slow.

"You can't really do much with a disc replacement, now we have the OK to start cranking it up in the gym and start strengthening."

The 15-time major champion did not say when he expected to make his return, explaining that he was waiting to "get a feel for the recovery process" before deciding on where and when.

His initial return was delayed in March when he had surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon sustained while training at home.

Woods had already been playing a limited schedule since suffering severe injuries in a car accident in February 2021.

But when asked why he was making yet another comeback after so many injuries, Woods insisted it was "my passion to just play".

"I haven't done that in a long time and it's been a tough year," Woods added.

"I've had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months of this year and the end of last year.

"I'd like to come back to just playing golf again."