BETHESDA, Md. — Tiger Woods is waiting for everything to click in.
He just doesn’t know when that will happen.
Woods, playing host this week at the Quicken Loans National instead of playing the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club, said Wednesday he continues to progress toward a return to competitive golf following two surgeries to his back within six weeks last fall. He said he has played 18 holes on back-to-back days but still is “sore” on a day-to-day basis. He has no idea when he’ll be back playing competitive golf.
“I'm still getting stronger,” Woods said. “I'm excited about what has transpired so far. Getting leaner. I've lost some body fat but I kept the weight up, which is nice. I've gotten stronger and it's just recovering from day to day. ...
“I'm sore and it's about trying to recover for the next day. I just need to still get in more golf shape, try to hit more golf balls, things of that nature. … I'm just playing it week to week and I keep getting physically better. I just hope that everything clicks in and I can do it sooner rather than later.”
Woods, 40, didn’t rule out any upcoming tournaments. He has not played since a tie for 10th at the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. Then he underwent two back surgeries in the span of six weeks.
Woods was last at Congressional on May 16 and hit three consecutive shots into the water as he tried to reach the 10th green from 102 yards. In April, he played his first holes since August as he and Mark O’Meara played five at the grand opening of Bluejack National Golf Club near Houston. Also in April, he hit shots on the range at a junior clinic in South Carolina and during a 30-minute clinic at Tiger Jam in Las Vegas.
Now he’s building up to where he said he can do anything off the golf course and eventually get to a point where he can do all the work he needs to do before returning to the PGA Tour. He said his swing speed and ball speed numbers are good. And while he once feared he would lose distance because of the surgeries, he said he has gained distance instead.
“It's about me playing 36 holes on a daily basis, getting up to speed and playing. I'm not quite there yet,” Woods said. “I'm trying to get there, I'm trying to get there as fast as I can, but I'm trying to do it right at the same time. As you know, I've pushed through a lot of injuries and rehabs before in the past. Trying to do it correctly this time. ...
“The amount of exercises and hours I spend in the gym or in the pool or on the bike, just trying to get back and trying to have it where I can, one, first of all, have a nice quality of life, and then two is to get out here into the competitive environment. I'm kind of sneaking up on both.”
In the meantime, he’s handling hosting duties. This is the 10th playing of the Quicken Loans National, which he has won twice. The tournament benefits his foundation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
“It's tough not playing my own event,” he said. “It feels like I should be out there, I should be competing, I should be giving it everything I have and it doesn't feel good when I can't do that. I miss playing against these guys. I have to sit on the sidelines just like everybody else. ...
“This is a championship venue … and (the course) is a heck of a test. This year especially because it’s going to be long. Obviously the rain they got last night. It's going to be tough for them, not me.”
