Tiger Woods will return to the golf course on Saturday, but he doesn’t want anyone to expect too much from him at the PNC Championship in Florida.
Woods and his 15-year-old son Charlie will compete together in this weekend’s event, with the legendary golfer returning to the course for the first time since undergoing his sixth back surgery in September.
But the 48-year-old insists he is simply there to compete with his son and is not yet up to any level to challenge him, and says recovery is harder than ever.
“That was one of the reasons I had surgery earlier, so I could have the best opportunity to be with Charlie and be able to play,” Woods said.
“I’m not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again.” This has always been one of the highlights of the year for us as a family, and now we will be able to have that time together again.
‘I’m not going to feel what I’m used to feeling. Recovery has become the most difficult part. But as the rounds, weeks and months go by, it becomes more difficult.”
Tiger Woods returns to golf Saturday at the PNC Championship with his 15-year-old son Charlie
Woods, 48, is back on track to return after a sixth back surgery in September.
The surgery was on his back, but Woods said his right leg, which was shattered in a car accident in February 2021 outside Los Angeles, remains the biggest physical obstacle.
Still, he opted to walk through the pro-am on Friday rather than ride in a cart, which is allowed for players because the tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour Champions.
And his swing looked good, too, although Woods wasn’t taking any compliments.
“Rusty, very rusty,” he said with a smile in an interview with The Golf Channel on Friday. ‘I don’t have my feelings and my trajectory is out of place. But hey, this was a practice round.
“I’m not at a competitive level. This is a fight. I’m not competitive.
‘I have fun. I love golf, I love the process of discovering it. I’m certainly not as good as I used to be, but I still enjoy hitting the ball from the center of the face.
‘I enjoy the process of trying to improve. We are addicted to this game. “It keeps bringing us back.”
Woods also revealed the support he gives his son during weekends like this, where the young teenager faces a lot of attention due to his famous father.
Woods said recovery is more difficult than ever, but added that he is “addicted” to the game.
“I always reminded him, ‘Be yourself.’ Charlie is Charlie. Yes, he’s my son. He’ll have my last name and he’ll be part of his core,” Woods said.
‘But I just want him to be himself and be his own person. That’s what we can only do
‘I always encourage him to make his own name, make his own path and have his own journey.
‘I think he’s doing a great job. In this day and age where everyone is basically media, with all the phones, constantly being filmed and people constantly watching, that’s just part of your generation, and it’s part of the world you have to navigate.’
After this weekend, Woods’ attention turns to the January launch of his ‘TGL’ indoor golf league, which he helped mastermind with Rory McIlroy.