Tiger Woods is looking forward to his first competitive rounds since the career-threatening leg injuries he suffered in a car crash, but he said on Friday the PNC Championship family tournament is no gauge of his readiness for the PGA Tour.
Short on endurance
“I still have a long way to go in this rehab process,” said the 15-time Major champion, who suffered compound fractures in his right leg after the car he was driving in a Los Angeles suburb veered off the road and flipped several times.
“I don’t have the endurance to be out here to play at the Tour level. This is different,” he said after playing a pre-tournament pro-am round on Friday.
“I can hit around here, drop a ball here, hit a few wedges, do that. But to go out there and have 220 yards and know that you have to hit a 3- or 4-iron and miss the ball in the correct spot, and then hit certain shots and one stroke determines whether you win or lose, that’s a totally different mindset than what we have out here this week. I’m not there yet,” he said.
Woods, who returned from 2017 spinal fusion surgery to win his fifth Masters title, and 15th Major crown, in 2019, said this injury rehabilitation had been the hardest of many in his career.
Always working
When he was finally up and about, Woods said, there wasn’t a day when he didn’t work on something. “Even days where I didn’t feel very good, we worked on something,” he said.
As he works to regain swing speed and generate length, Woods said even walking an entire round would be beyond him right now. For this event, he can use a cart.
“My leg is not quite right yet and it’s going to take time,” he said.
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