Tiger Woods said Tuesday that he has had two more surgeries this year and that the plantar fasciitis in his right foot that will keep him out of action this week is related to a serious injury he suffered in a car accident outside Los Angeles in February. 2021.
Woods, 46, declined to divulge details about the two surgeries or the specific dates of the procedures when speaking to reporters at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
A year ago, Woods told reporters in the Bahamas that it was “50-50” that his right leg would have to be amputated. After the accident, he spent three weeks in the hospital and three months in bed.
Woods said he started suffering from plantar fasciitis while preparing to play in the Hero World Challenge, which benefits his charity, the TGR Foundation.
“It was a tough decision just because I wanted to play,” Woods said. “I love to play, I love to compete, but unfortunately, I can hit the golf ball all I want, and I can’t walk. And so I’ve had a few setbacks throughout the year and I’ve still been able to do it. Play somehow, but I can’t just heal this and get off my leg and do a lot of treatment. Only time will tell.”
Woods said he needs a month or two to recover from plantar fasciitis, but still plans to play in two events next month because he can use a wheelchair. He is scheduled to play against world No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy in a 12-hole match with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the final edition of The Match, scheduled for Dec. 10 at Pelican Golf Club outside Tampa, Florida.
Woods is scheduled to play with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 17-18.
“When you have plantar fasciitis, the only thing you can do is rest and try to stretch as much as possible, but rest,” Woods says. “How do you rest when you’re preparing for the tournament? You know, it’s tough, so it’s going to be a tough week. [PNC Championship] It will be a very easy week. Charlie hits all the shots and I just pull the putters out of the hole, pretty easy there. But apart from that, we are flying carts in the match we are playing.”
Woods said his plan is to compete in all four major championships and one or two other tournaments in the future. Despite the recent setback, Woods said his right leg and foot are getting stronger.
“That’s it,” Woods said. “Physically, that’s all I can do. I told you guys that [at] At the beginning of this year. I don’t have much left in this leg, so get ready for the big ones and you know hope, lightning is caught in a bottle and I like to have a chance to win. Hopefully, I will remember how to do it. But again, give me a chance to get out there again.
Woods, a 15-time major champion, weighed in on the rift between the PGA Tour and the LIV golf circuit, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and fronted by two-time Open champion Greg Norman. Woods said the rival tours could not come to an agreement until Norman stepped down as commissioner and CEO of LIV Golf, something McIlroy told reporters in Dubai earlier this month.
LIV Golf and a few of its players filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging that LIV Golf was illegally barring PGA Tour players from competing in LIV Golf tournaments and abusing its monopoly power in squash tournaments. The PGA Tour filed a countersuit alleging LIV Golf interfered with its contracts with its members.
When asked if the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could co-exist, Woods said: “In the way it is now, not now, not with their management, not with Greg there and the hostility on the tour.” “I don’t see that happening. Like Rory said and I said, I think Greg needs to be released and eventually, hopefully, we can stay between the two charges and figure something out. But why would you switch? What if you had charges against you? They charged us first.
