Tiger Woods, 47, reveals he is targeting a tournament a MONTH in 2024 as he prepares for his long-awaited return to the course this week… and insists he can ‘absolutely’ win again

• Tiger Woods has not played since having to withdraw from The Masters in April
• The 15-time major winner will make his return at the Hero World Challenge 
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Tiger Woods declared his intention to play up to 12 tournaments next year as he gears up to make yet another comeback from injury this week. 

The 47-year-old is making a third comeback to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge, the tournament he hosts in the Bahamas, after not playing since withdrawing from The Masters in April. 

The 15-time major winner battled through pain due to reaggravated plantar fasciitis from his 2021 car crash during a blustery third round at the undulated Augusta National before the elements forced him to withdraw, later having surgery on his ankle. 

But despite the setback, Woods believes he can still win as he revealed his desire to compete is the main factor fueling his determination to return to the course.

‘I love competing. I love playing. I miss being out here with the guys. I miss the camaraderie and the fraternity like atmosphere out here, and the overall banter,’ Woods said. 

Tiger Woods revealed he could play a tournament per month next year as he makes his return

Woods, 47, will play competitively for the first time since April at the Hero World Challenge

The golfing legend beamed as he addressed the media ahead of his comeback in the Bahamas

‘But what drives me is I love to compete. There will come a point in time, I haven’t come around to it fully yet, that I won’t be able to win again. When that day comes and I’ll walk.’ 

When pressed on whether that meant he still believes he can win again, which could break his tie with Sam Snead for the PGA Tour record wins, the golf icon adamantly responded: ‘Absolutely.’

And Woods intends to give himself plenty of chances to taste victory on the fairways once again as he announced his intention to play a potential 12 tournaments in 2024. 

‘I think the best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month,’ he said. ‘I think that’s realistic. You would have to start maybe with the Genesis [in February], then something in March, maybe The Players. But we have a setup right now where the biggest events are one per month, so it sets itself up for that. 

‘Now, I need to get myself ready for all of that, I think this week is a big step in that direction.’

His plan for 2024 is a stark contrast to the admission Woods made last year when he confessed that he likely would only be able to compete in the majors plus one or two more tournaments.  

Woods made a remarkable return to competitive golf at The Masters in 2022, just 14 months after a single-car crash in February 2021 almost cost him his leg. 

However, the injuries he sustained during the accident made walking the course a struggle with him limping at times and he was in visible pain at Augusta earlier this year. 

The 15-time major winner has struggled to walk the course since his 2021 horror car crash 

Woods hosts the tournament in Albany, Bahamas. Pictured with 2022 winner Viktor Hovland 

He underwent surgery in April to help with the injury and has kept a relatively low profile on and off the course since. 

However, while fans will be rejoicing at the highly-anticipated return of the golfing legend, he warned not to expect a pristine game. 

‘My game feels rusty,’ Woods admitted. ‘I haven’t played in a while and I have my subtalar fused, and so I’m excited to compete and play. 

‘I’m just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven’t done it in a while, and I can tell you this, I don’t have any of the pain that I had at Augusta or pre-that in my ankle. Other parts are taking the brunt of the load, so I’m a little bit more sore in other areas, but the ankle’s good. So that surgery was a success.’ 

He added: ‘I’ve played a lot of holes. But I haven’t used a pencil and a score card, okay? So now you put a pencil to paper and that really counts, it’s a little bit different story, and so I’m very curious about that as well.’ 

The previous concern over Woods’ ability to play a round was not his game itself but rather the issue of walking the course due to the pain in his ankle and leg. 

However, following the surgery, he revealed that walking was no longer as great a concern.

Woods insisted he believes he can still compete to win. Pictured winning the 2019 Masters

The golf icon was in visible pain during the third round of The Masters earlier this year 

‘I’m not concerned at all walking it. I don’t have any of the ankle pains I had with the hardware that has been placed in my foot. That’s all gone, but it’s more the other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back, the forces go somewhere else. Just like when I had my back fused, the forces got to go somewhere. It’s up the chain. 

‘So as I said, I’m just as curious as with all of you what’s going to happen. I haven’t done this in a while.’ 

Woods has been gearing up to a return over the past couple of months, teasing fans with a clip of him hitting a shot at Pebble Beach and caddying for 14-year-old son Charlie. 

And the 82-time winner on the PGA Tour revealed that his rounds with Charlie, who he will compete with at the PNC Championship for a fourth time next month, was the principal factor in deciding he was ready to return. 

‘As far as the commitment to playing, probably after I caddied with Charlie and was able to recover each and every day like that,’ he said. 

‘People don’t realize I was still lifting and still doing a bunch of other things too, in conjunction with the endurance part of it. And I was hitting golf balls a lot, trying to get Charlie ready for the event. Then post event I started feeling I can probably do this, so why not. Talked to the committee, and a committee of one was able to give me a spot.’ 

Woods revealed that caddying for son Charlie, 14, helped cement his decision to return 

However, while Charlie may have helped spark the comeback, the youngster will not be on the bag for his dad this week with Woods joking the teenager can’t afford to skip school. 

Instead, long time friend, practice partner and Vice President of Woods’ company, TGR, Rob McNamara will caddy for the legend. 

Woods previously had Joe LaCava on the bag but when he was forced into a long period of absence due to his surgery in April, the bagman teamed up with fellow American Patrick Cantlay with the duo sparking controversy at the Ryder Cup in September over hat-gate. 

Woods will make his highly-anticipated return alongside longtime pal Justin Thomas with the pair teeing off at 11:52am ET for the first round Thursday.  

Source: Read Full Article