“This year was kind of — I had to toss it away. I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be,” Woods said
Tiger Woods says he’s still struggling with intense leg pain that’s keeping him from playing his best, as the golf legend looks ahead to 2025.
During a press conference to promote the 2024 Hero World Challenge where he acts as host, Woods, 48, admitted that ongoing pain related to his years of back issues and surgeries didn’t allow him to play at the high level fans have become accustomed to throughout his highly decorated career.
“Well, I didn’t think my back was going to go like it did this year,” Woods said, according to Golf.com. “This year was kind of — I had to toss it away. I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be.”
Woods said he recently underwent another procedure in the hopes of fixing the pervasive pain in his leg from his 2021 car crash, where he nearly lost his right leg.
“It was quite painful throughout the end of the year, and hence, I had another procedure done to it to alleviate the pain I had going down my leg,” Woods said at the press conference, according to Pro Golf Now. “So, whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don’t know.”
Woods continued, adding “I didn’t play as much as I needed to going into the major championships and I didn’t play well at them. Hopefully next year will be better, I’ll be physically stronger and better. I know the procedure helped and hopefully I can build upon that.”
When asked for a current update on when he believes he will be able to return to the golf course, Woods said that his signature sharpness is not there yet. “I’m not tournament sharp yet, no. I’m still not there,” he said.
“These are 20 of the best players in the world, and I’m not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I’m ready to compete and play at this level, then I will,”Woods added.
Woods’ career in recent years has been marred by injuries which have routinely forced him to withdraw from tournaments.
“I hurt every day,” Woods told reporters ahead of the Masters tournament, according to CBS Sports. “I ache. No, I ache every day.”
Back in April, Woods had the worst score of his professional career at the 2024 Masters tournament, finishing the tournament 16-over par, the highest he’s ever gone over throughout his decorated and legendary career.While the career-high score kept him far away from contention, Woods still made history by making his 24th consecutive cut at the marquee tournament.The PGA Tour celebrated Woods’ record-breaking accomplishment, while the five-time Masters tournament winner told ESPN at the time he felt he still had a “chance to win” the tournament after making the cut.
Related: Tiger Woods Makes History at 2024 Masters Tournament with 24th Consecutive Cut
The 11-time PGA Tour winner’s magical return fell short, as Scottie Scheffler took home the prized green jacket for the second time in three years.
“Coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday,” Woods told The Associated Press at the time. “Unfortunately [Saturday] didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to.”
