NASSAU, The Bahamas – When will Tiger Woods return to pro golf? It’s a question the 82-time PGA TOUR winner has been asked often in recent years and is once again contemplating undergoing another back surgery earlier this fall.

In his first public interview since the surgery, Woods expressed his desire to return, but admitted there’s still a lot of uncertainty about when that might happen.

Woods underwent back surgery in October, his second back surgery in a little over a year and seventh overall since 2014. He also needed surgery earlier in 2025 to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon.

Woods said he was just cleared to chip and putt last week, which was six weeks post-surgery. Now he’s focused on building strength back up and adding rotational components to his workouts.

Woods shared the state of his game Tuesday during a pre-tournament press conference at the Hero World Challenge, an annual interview that has become a sort of State of the Union for all things Woods and the PGA TOUR.

“I just started this process," Woods said. "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."

Woods’ potential playing schedule has taken on new interest in recent months with the 15-time major champion’s 50th birthday approaching later this month. Beginning next year, Woods is eligible to compete on PGA TOUR Champions, which could provide an easier path back to competitive golf with three-round tournaments and the ability to use a golf cart. Woods joked he planned to play 25 events on both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, then said the reality is much more murky.

At a minimum, Woods expects to miss the start of the TGL season, though he had hopes to potentially return toward the end of the league's second season, around March.

“I'm just looking forward to just let me get back to playing again, let me do that and then I'll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be,” Woods said. “I'm a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level. Unfortunately, I've been through this rehab process before, it's just step by step. Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I'm going to play and how much I'll play. ...

“I really haven't gone in depth of what the schedule looks like on the Champions Tour except for a few tournaments.”

Woods has not played since The Open Championship in July. He made five starts this season, his lone made cut coming at the Masters (finished 60th). Woods withdrew from The Genesis Invitational in February and missed the cut in the other three major championships. Woods hasn’t played more than seven events in a calendar year since 2019.