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Tiger Woods doesn't think he'll compete in another major.
Tiger Woods says he's at peace because he knows he won't build himself up to win another major. The song is called "1:56."
11:37 AM
Tiger Woods was optimistic about playing some limited professional golf in the future while also being realistic about the struggles ahead, given the perspective he gleaned from the serious auto accident he suffered in February.
"I'm lucky to be alive and also have a limb," Woods said in the Bahamas, where he conducted his first news conference since the crash.
The site of the Hero World Challenge was visited by Woods, who hosts the event for his foundation.
He did not give any information about the accident, which happened on his way to Rolling Hills Country Club early in the morning, for an endorsement obligation. The police report was issued in early April.
After the accident, Woods was in the hospital for three weeks and then in a hospital-like bed for three months. He said it was 50-50 if part of his leg would need to be removed.
"This one has been more difficult than the other ones I've had in my career," Woods said. The knee stuff was one thing. That is one level. The back. It's hard to explain how difficult it is. Being immobile for three months. Just to lay down. I was looking forward to going outside. I had a goal of that. That was a goal for a person who lived his entire life outside.
I transitioned from a wheelchair to crutches. It's been a lot of work.
He admitted that there's a long way to go.
He doesn't know when he's going to play at the tour level. I can do things like that, I can play a round here or there. The USGA suggested that the game be played forward. I like that idea now. I don't like the back of the shirts. I like to play it forward. Let's move it up.
It's a little eye-opening to see some of my shots fall out of the sky, but at least I'm able to do it again. It didn't look like I was going to.
Woods was vague about when he was able to begin walking again and how much golf he has played but acknowledged that he has played "some holes" and posted a video on Nov. 21 in which he hit a shot from a driving range with the caption "making progress."
He said that his comeback from spine fusion surgery made it easier to accept his fate.
He said that he had two more events to go after getting the last major. I don't think this leg will ever be the same as it used to be, and I will never have the back that it used to be. I'm not getting younger. I don't want to do that because it would take a long time to recover from a full schedule and a full practice schedule.
"But to ramp it up for a few events a year and, as I mentioned, Mr. Hogan did a pretty good job of it, and there's no reason that I can't do that." I think if you practice correctly and do it correctly, you will come off surgeries before. I know the recipe for it and I need to get to a point where I can do that again.
Hogan was involved in an auto accident in 1949 when he and his wife were on their way to Texas from a tournament in Phoenix. He had significant injuries, including to his legs, after they were hit by a Greyhound bus.
Hogan played nine tournaments in a year after the accident, the most in 1950. He won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1951. He played just six times in 1953 and won five of them.
Hogan was younger than Woods.
"I have a long way to go in the rehabilitation of this leg, and it's not fun," Woods said. It's just reps and breaking up scar tissue. The challenge of it is going to be hard, but it's not going to be fun. Sometimes it's two steps forward, one step back, but you have to go through it to get to the next level. I enjoy that part of it, and maybe one day I will be able to compete against the best players in the world again.
According to the police report, Woods was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and was unable to negotiate the curve of the road. It was not clear whether Woods attempted to negotiate the curve, as he was traveling at more than 80 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Woods drove into the opposite lanes and hit a tree after hitting a curb, a wooden sign, and a median as he went straight into the median.
As he sat in the interview room at Albany, Woods acknowledged that he was experiencing pain in his back and leg. He said that that is part of what he needs to overcome.
Woods was asked about The Open at St. Andrew in July, a place where he has won twice.
He said he would love to play in the Open Championship. I hope I can. I have to get there first. I need to get to the tournament.
When asked about his upcoming 46th birthday, Woods joked that he would be in a cart in four more years.
He said he would like to turn the page.
