Tiger will not rush return from injury

Woods is prepared to wait until he is fully fit before returning to action

Patient: Tiger has admitted his knee injury may keep him out of this year’s Open at Royal St George’s

Tiger Woods has admitted he that he may not be fit in time to compete in The Open, which begins on July 14 at Royal St George’s.

The former world No.1, now 17^th in the rankings, has been out of action since May with injuries to his left leg sustained at The Masters and then aggravated by an attempt to return early at The Player’s Championship.

The 35-year-old withdrew after nine holes at Sawgrass, and is adamant that he will not hasten his return to compete at Royal St George’s. 2006

“I’m just playing it by ear right now. I’ve not hit any balls yet. I want to be playing, but I’m not ready yet,” said Woods.

The 14-time major champion has had a series of injuries since returning at the 2010 Masters from a lengthy, self-imposed absence as a consequence of much-publicised personal problems.

The knee that Tiger injured at Augusta this year Masters has already been operated on twice since 2008, and it appears Woods has the patience to wait until he is fully fit before he returns to the competitive arena.

“It was a borderline call to play The Players. I wasn’t quite 100% and I hurt myself there.

“There’s not going to be a 50-50 call this time. I need to get my body ready where I can practice and play and apply it.

“But I’m 35, I’m not 65 – I’ve still got some years ahead of me and I feel my best years are still ahead of me.

“I will come back when I’m 100%. I don’t know when that’s going to be,” said Woods, who has won the Open three times in his illustrious career.

“I’ve played injured before and been successful at it . I didn’t think this was anywhere near that, but it’s time to have a different approach. I’m setting no timetable – I’m going to learn my lesson and apply it. I’m being smarter this time.”

The injury problems also caused him to pull out of the recent US Open, the first time he has missed the event since making his debut in 1995.

So far this year, Woods has played only six events, with his best finish a tie for fourth at The Masters. Tiger, who finished joint third when the Open was last held at Sandwich in 2003, has not won a tournament since The Australian Masters at Kingston Heath in 2009.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered