Tiger Woods on the comeback train once again as he's cleared to chip and putt

The 15-time major winner went under the knife for the umpteenth time in his storied career to repair a collapsed disc in his spine. The surgery comes off the back of a quiet 2025 during which he never featured on the PGA Tour.

But things are looking up. Speaking to the press ahead of hosting the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas this week, Woods revealed that doctors have given him the green light to get busy.

"I just got cleared last week to chip and putt, so that's good," said Woods, who turns 50 this month.

"I started to chip and putt, I just started to lift in the gym, I just started this process. A disc replacement takes time.

"It's longer, it's not as long as a fusion, thank God, but it's going to take time… 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.

"And so my passion to just play, I haven't done that in a long time. Just play."

Woods' last competitive round was at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. He missed the cut after posting rounds of 79 and 77 to finish 14 over par.

It's been a long time out of the game for Woods and he admits the recovery from his latest issue has been arduous.

"Well, it's not as fast as I'd like it to be," he said.

"It was a good thing to do, something I needed to have happen and it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process.

"Let me get back to playing, let me do that and I'll kind of figure out what the schedule's going to be. I'm ways away from that part of it, that type of decision, that type of commitment level."