![\"PGA:](\"https:\/\/images.deadspin.com\/tr:w-900\/10487495.jpg\")
Tiger Woods on the 14th hole during the second round of the 2017 Hero World Challenge golf tournament at Albany. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\nSeven weeks removed from his seventh back surgery is not enough distance for Tiger Woods to provide an accurate measurement of his current physical recovery, or a timeline for his return to golf. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n Woods said on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge he has the green light to work around the greens in a modest sign of progress. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I’m probably going to play probably 25 events on both tours,” Woods said with a layer of sarcasm when asked if rumors he was considering the PGA Tour Champions were accurate. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I think that should cover most of the year, right? I’m just looking forward to, let me get back to playing again. Then I can figure out what the schedule is going to be. I’m a ways away from that part of it. That type of decision, that type of commitment level.” <\/p>\n<\/section>\n Woods is in the Bahamas this week as the host of the annual event in the Bahamas. He shuffles to the end of what he described as a “tough year” and his 50th birthday on December 30 not knowing fully when or if he’ll get back on the course competitively. Woods last played in a PGA Tour event July 2024 in the Open Championship.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before. It’s just step-by-step,” Woods said. “Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I’ll play and how much I’ll play.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I just got cleared last week to chip and putt. It’s been (seven) weeks (since surgery) last Friday. It’s been slow. Can’t really do much on a disk replacement. You’ve just got to let it set.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n Woods, who also had surgery on his Achilles in March, said he has the OK to work in rotational core exercises and start “cranking it up a little bit” in the gym. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n He made the decision that he and son, Charlie Woods, will not enter the PNC Championship. The Dec. 18-21 event was a staple on the Woods family calendar. But Tiger Woods said he won’t be on the course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando this year because he would be limited to shots on and around the green.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Peers are pulling for Tiger Woods to return in any capacity. In August, Ernie Els invited Tiger to “beat us again” on the PGA Tour Champions. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I’ve said, please come play. And I think it can only be beneficial to him. He will get himself in golf shape,” Els told the Palm Beach Post. “You can ride a cart without any shame, and if there was one guy that should be able to drive a cart, it’s him.” <\/p>\n<\/section>\n Woods said his level of interest in golf and love for the game hasn’t been hindered during the latest rehab. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I’d like to come back to just playing golf again. I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that’s been tough,” he said. “And so my passion to just play, I haven’t done that in a long time. Just play. So I’ve had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months, and most of this year and quite frankly end of last year.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Woods said he doesn’t know if the Champions Tour is more realistic because of his age and the wear and tear on his body. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I don’t know. I don’t know what that is. I need time to figure this out with my back and with my body,” he said. “As I start to get more explosive and start to rotate and see what I’ve got, then I can find out or assess what tournaments I could play in, how much I should play, where I would like to play. I really haven’t gone in depth of what the schedule looks like on the Champions Tour except for a few tournaments. Even our schedule, I’ve been working on our ’27-’28 schedule. It’s been not exactly golf based, it’s been personally golf based, it’s been about trying to do what’s best for the Tour.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n