(Los Angeles) American golfer Tiger Woods said Sunday that he is encouraged by his performance in December and hopes to participate in one competition per month next year, following his return to the greens this month after surgery. ankle.
The man with 15 Majors, who turns 48 at the end of the month, had not played since the Masters eight months ago, before placing 18th out of 20 at the Hero World Challenge two weeks ago.
“There’s a lot of things that hurt, not just my ankle, but that’s how it is,” Woods said. “I will be able to walk and play. I worked hard, I was able to recover.”
On Sunday, he and his 14-year-old son Charlie shared fifth place at the PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla., with a score of 19 under par, six strokes behind German winner Bernhard Langer and his son Jason.
Woods struggled to walk after suffering a serious leg injury in a car accident in 2021, having ankle surgery in April, he now plans to compete in one competition a month next year, thanks to good fitness.
“I’ve been training every day, which is great,” Woods said. “It’s good to stretch my legs and eliminate the doubts I had because, frankly, I hadn’t hit a shot that mattered in a long time.”
The golf legend said his right ankle, which was causing him to limp, is no longer a problem. “The ankle was fine because it’s fused now, but other places were hurting,” Woods said. “The fact that I was able to train right away and start hitting balls is encouraging.”
Woods is not exempt for next year’s US Open, but the three-time Major champion should be. “Right now, no, I’m not one of them,” he said. “Who knows if I should ask them officially, if they will invite me, if they will give me an exemption or if I should qualify? I don’t know what the procedure is.”
The former world No.1 said the competitions he has participated in since his return have boosted his confidence that he can still play competitively with the best players in the world.
“If I’m able to train and do the things that I know I can do, and prepare, I know I can still do it,” Woods said.