Gloomy Tiger has no ‘timetable’ for comeback

LOS ANGELES, California: Former world number one Tiger Woods said on Tuesday he had no ‘timetable’ for his return as he struggles to regain fitness after back surgery.
Woods, who turns 40 later this month, told reporters at the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, which benefits his foundation, that he was frustrated by the inability to set a date for his return.
When asked if it was possible he may not play at all in 2016 as he recovers from two operations on his back in September and October, Woods replied: “I’ve been asked this quite a bit lately and the answer is I don’t know.”
“I listen to my surgeon and physios. It’s different from any of the other surgeries and procedures that I’ve had in the past, he added.
“For nerves, there are really no timetables, and therein lies the tricky part of it because you can come back earlier or you can come back later and it depends on how the nerve heals and how it settles,” former world number one said.
“I am really good at playing video games and that’s basically how I pass a lot of my time,” he said.
Woods once led the world ranking for a record 623 weeks, but has since fallen to 400th in the world after struggling with form and fitness in recent years.
Woods underwent microdiscectomy surgery to remove a fragment that was causing a pinched nerve in September. He had another surgery to ease discomfort in October. The latest procedures came after the same surgery in March 2014.
Woods played in only 11 events in 2015 because of his fitness problems, having played only seven tournaments the previous year.
Despite the downbeat assessment of his immediate future, Woods said he would be satisfied if he failed to add to his astounding haul of 14 majors — four adrift of Jack Nicklaus’s 18 — and 79 wins, three behind Sam Snead’s 82.