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Tiger Woods on his recovery: 'I haven’t felt this good in years.'

By Daniel Wilco
Published on
Tiger Woods on his recovery: 'I haven’t felt this good in years.'

Tiger Woods took to his blog Wednesday to post an update on his recovery process after his fourth back surgery — a spinal fusion.

"It has been just over a month since I underwent fusion surgery on my back, and it is hard to express how much better I feel," Woods wrote. "It was instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years."

Woods’ only start on the PGA Tour this season came at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he missed the cut. It was his first official PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship in 2015. The 41-year-old also missed his third Masters in the past four years.

"I did everything I could to play at Augusta and was ready to go," Woods said. "Unfortunately, it was kind of like the 2008 U.S. Open. The pain was post-impact when I swung the club. I figured, ‘Can I handle it?’ This time the answer was, ‘probably not.’ That shows the effect nerve pain can have."

He also talked about his potential return to the game. While playing competitively is still a long ways, off, Woods said the outlook was good.

"But, I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again. Presently, I’m not looking ahead. I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals."