Tiger Woods Admits It Is ‘More Difficult’ To Return To Top-Level Golf

After shooting a final-round 73 in the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods acknowledged that it was physically harder than he had initially indicated to return to the top level of golf.

In a car accident in Los Angeles two years ago, Woods sustained multiple fractures to his right leg and ankle. He has since accepted the fact that for the rest of his career, he will play in only a few tournaments annually.

The 15-time major champion displayed flashes of brilliance at Riviera, especially during a third round of 67, but struggled to walk 18 holes nonstop for five days straight in his first tournament without a cart since the Open Championship last summer.

“It’s progress, headed in the right direction,” Woods told reporters. “It certainly was a little bit more difficult than I probably let on.

“My team has been fantastic in getting my body recovered day to day and getting me ready to play each and every day. That’s the hard part that I can’t simulate at home.

“Even if I played four days at home, it’s not the same as adrenaline, it’s not the same as the system being ramped up like that, the intensity, just the focus that it takes to play at this level.”

In response to the question of whether he will compete in a further PGA Tour tournament before the Masters in April, Woods declined to comment, adding, “As I told you guys last year, I’m not going to play any more than maybe the majors and maybe a couple more.

“That’s it, that’s all my body will allow me to do. My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is, I just can’t. That’s just going to be my future.

“So my intent last year was to play in all four majors, I got three of the four. Hopefully this year I can get all four and maybe sprinkle in a few here and there.

“But that’s it for the rest of my career. I know that and I understand that. That’s just my reality.”