[ad_1]
Tiger Woods said in an interview with CBS’s Jim Nantz on Sunday that he didn’t practice much following a fifth back operation in December and that he would not guarantee to make the Masters final round. in seven weeks.
“I’ve got to get there first,” said Woods, 45, who was at the Riviera Country Club as host of the Genesis Invitational.
“I looked at my putter,” he joked, giving no timeline for his return in the coming weeks.
“I don’t know what the plan is,” he said. “The plan right now is to move on tomorrow and start moving forward.”
Woods underwent a microdiscectomy on December 23, a procedure to relieve nerve pain in the lower back. He has had this same procedure three times previously, once in 2014 and twice in 2015. He then had a much more serious spinal fusion in April 2017, which he returned less than a year later.
Woods has won three times since to bring his PGA Tour win total to 82, tying Sam Snead. He also won his 15th major title by winning the Masters 2019.
But Woods never got anything last year, signing just one top 10, a tie for ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2020.
He missed the cup at the US Open and finished 38th at the Masters, his last official event.
He had his last procedure three days after competing with his son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship in December.
“I feel good, a little stiff,” Woods said. “I still have a scheduled MRI, and then I can start doing more activities. I am always at the gym doing rehab activities before I switch to others.
Woods would not commit to playing a tournament before the Masters and, when asked specifically about the first major championship of the year, he replied, “My God, I hope so. But I have to get there first. I don’t have much trouble moving. There is room left. I only have one. “
Recovery from the procedure, which was supposed to be one level higher on the spine than the previous ones, is expected to take two and a half to three months. He was said to be hitting balls a few weeks later, but Woods’ words indicated he hadn’t done the heavy training needed for a comeback.
Among the potential places for him to return is the Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks, followed by the Players Championship and the Honda Classic. After the Honda is the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, a tournament to which he will be eligible if he remains ranked among the best 64 in the world. He fell to 51st place on Sunday.
The match play takes place two weeks before the Masters.
[ad_2]
Source link