Sawt Falasteen - Tiger in family golf event but has 'long way' before PGA return

The 36-hole parent-child tournament at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando will be the first quasi-competitive event for Woods since he underwent back surgery in September.

Back trouble and leg injuries from a 2021 car crash have limited Woods' ability to play in the regular tournaments he once dominated.

"My leg is what it is. It's still here," said Woods, who turns 49 on December 30. "But this year I struggled a lot with my back and it's a lot better, but I still have a long way to go."

Woods was 60th at the Masters and missed the cut in the year's other three majors, struggling to recover form between rounds. In his only other start this year, Woods withdrew after one round at the Genesis Invitational, the February event he hosts at Riviera.

"The recovery has gotten to be the hardest part," Woods said. "But over the course of rounds, weeks, months, it gets harder."

Even getting his surgically repaired body ready to compete is difficult.

"Preparing for competitive play is different. That takes months, weeks," Woods said. "But it starts with each and every day. You just do the little things correctly and they add up.

"It's frustrating. It's hard. I have an amazing team, amazing support. But I have to do the little things on a daily basis and away from everybody. It's hard."

Woods has been impressed with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who won nine times this year including a second Masters and Paris Olympic gold. It's a domination unseen since Woods in his heyday.

"How he has handled the pressure and the expectations for he and his family, I think he's doing an unbelievable job," Woods said. "He's just coming into his own. This is the fun part of watching him develop. This is going to be the start of an unbelievable year."

Woods said a commonality in their success styles is avoiding errors.

"It's not making that many mistakes," Woods said. "Over the course of big events, lots of play at an elite level, not making mistakes adds up."

- Charlie beats Tiger for nine -

Woods, who shares the record of 82 PGA Tour wins with Sam Snead, has a new rival to challenge him in Charlie Woods, who recently defeated his dad over nine holes.

"He beat me for nine holes. He has yet to beat me for 18 holes," Woods said. "That day is coming. I'm just prolonging it as long as I possibly can.

"We have so much fun out there. It'll be a fun atmosphere tomorrow and we're just going to have a blast."

This week marks the fifth time the Woods duo has played in the event, with a runner-up finish in 2001 their best showing. They were fifth last year.

Woods hopes playing this week can be a step back to competing once more.

"I'm not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again," Woods said. "This has always been one of the bigger highlights of the year for us as a family.

"We want to win, but it's about the bond. It's about having the family. It's about us having a father-son moment together."

His next competition is planned for January's launch of TGL, the six-team tech-golf league developed by Woods and Rory McIlroy. It features a specially built arena with video screens and rotating greens.

"It's absolutely incredible. The rotating green blew me away," Woods said. "I think it's going to be a lot of fun for not just us but also the fan experience."

Q.Najjar--SF-PST