Don't Miss

Tiger Woods not optimistic about quick return, may miss season

October 21, 2015

Tiger Woods responds to a question during a press conference to launch the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup in Mexico City, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Woods withdrew from the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup and two other events he had planned to play this year following back surgery. He isn’t expected to return to the tour until January at the earliest. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

By Brian Han

What is professional golf without Tiger Woods?

For many fans, it’s enough of a reason not to tune into a tournament. It looks as if that might be the case for the 2015-16 PGA Tour season considering that the 14-time major champion still feels stiffness in his back five weeks after his Sept. 16 surgery.

At a news conference in Mexico City for the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup, Woods admitted that he had played in pain for much of 2015.

There were glimpses of a comeback that never came to fruition.

The tie for 17th at the Masters. The tie for 10th at the Wyndham Championship. Both events ended with mediocre final rounds in which millions of viewers across the world were met with disappointment.

“Rehab will be soon, and it will be tedious and long,” Woods told reporters. “The last one, it took me awhile to get back. Some players on tour have done the same procedure and to be back pain-free it took them over a year.”

A year is a long time for an aging athlete. But coming back too soon may come at too great a cost.

His previous back surgery in March 2014 put him out of competitive golf for three months, which in retrospect might have been too soon.

“The last time, it took me a long time to come back.,” he said. “Some of the guys who have had it done said it took them over a year to be pain free. I hope it doesn’t take me that long to be pain free.”

A primary difference comes down to the ongoing aggressive mechanics in his swing. Woods will be 40 come December, and one look at his most recent pre-surgery swings shows an impressive amount of flexibility and club head speed.

The question is can his body hold up to that kind of stress?

“There’s a process,” he said. “Little stuff before I can get stronger. Then I have to get explosive. Then I have to do it for a long period of time. And then playing like that for a long period of time.”