Tiger Woods is ready to play golf again.
The 14-time major champion announced Wednesday that he plans to play in three events this fall: the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif. from Oct 13-16; the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open in Turkey from Nov. 3-6; and the Hero World Challenge, which he hosts and his foundation runs, in the Bahamas from Dec. 1-4.
“My rehabilitation is to the point where I’m comfortable making plans, but I still have work to do,” Woods said on his website. “Whether I can play depends on my continued progress and recovery. My hope is to have my game ready to go.”
Woods has been out of action since August 2015, when he finished tied for 10th place at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina. That week, Woods complained of hip pain. However, the source of that pain turned out to be the same part of his back where a microdiscectomy was performed in March 2014. In September 2015, a second microdiscectomy was performed. The next month, a follow-up procedure was performed.
The former world No. 1 has showed off his swing at different points in his recovery process, including at a junior golf event in South Carolina in April, as well his Tiger Jam event in Las Vegas. Woods also hit three balls in a guarding water hazard on a 100-yard shot during Quicken Loans National media day in May. Woods reiterated all along he was making progress but that he was waiting for his stamina to play and practice as he’d like could return to a level good enough to compete somewhat regularly on the PGA Tour.
“It was difficult missing tournaments that are important to me, but this time I was smart about my recovery and didn’t rush it,” Woods said. “It was great spending time with my children Sam and Charlie, and also working on a lot of projects including golf-course design, the upcoming 20th anniversary of my foundation and my book about the 1997 Masters. But I missed competing. I want to thank all the fans for their kindness and concern. I’ve been a pro about 20 years, and their support has never waned.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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