Tiger Woods remains unable to commit to a timeline for a golf comeback, admitting his recovery from a back operation has been slow.

Woods underwent disc replacement surgery in October, having not appeared at a PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July 2024. 

He played five tournaments overall in 2024, only completing four rounds once, as he finished 20th at the Masters.

The 15-time major winner memorably won the Masters for a sixth time in 2019, having previously gone 11 years without a major triumph. 

He also returned to the sport following a serious car crash in February 2021, which left him requiring surgery for multiple leg injuries.  

Woods is yet to commit to participating in the 2026 PGA Tour Champions season, which he will be eligible for when he turns 50 later this month. 

Having just been cleared to start chipping and putting, Woods said at a press conference on Tuesday: "It's my passion to just play, I haven't done that in a long time and it's been a tough year.

"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."

Asked how his recovery had gone thus far, Woods said: "It's not as fast as I'd like it to be. 

pic.twitter.com/7bMmiyQ2vy

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) October 11, 2025

"It was a good thing to do, something I needed to happen, it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process.

"Unfortunately, I've been through this rehab process before and it's step-by-step. Once I get a feel for the recovery process, I can decide where and when to play.

"Let me get back to playing again, let me do that and I'll figure out the schedule. I just got cleared last week to chip and putt. It's been six weeks last Friday, and it's been slow.

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

Woods will serve as the tournament host for this week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, with Scottie Scheffler having won the last two editions of the competition.