Choosing rest over reps, Tiger Woods returns to competition at PGA Championship four weeks after Masters win

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – When Tiger Woods underwent back fusion surgery two years ago, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to walk again, much less play golf at the high level that his fans had become accustomed to seeing since he captured his first major championship at the 1997 Masters.

And even though he has come all the way back, winning last month’s Masters for his 15th career major and first since the 2008 U.S. Open, and one of the favorites to win this week’s PGA Championship, he knows how closely he will need to listen to his body to make sure it is ready for the demands that golf requires.

“I don’t know how sore I’m going to be the next morning,” Woods, 43, said Tuesday during a news conference at cold and damp Bethpage Black. “That’s the fickle nature of having my back fused. Some days I have more range of motion. Some days I don’t. Some days I ache more, and sometimes I don’t.

“There’s more volatility, let’s put it that way. There’s more days I feel older than my age than I do younger than my age. That’s one of the trickier things. And then you add the golf component to it. Being a little bit older and with the back the way it is, there’s a lot of concerns.”

Woods has not competed since April 14 when he put on a green jacket for the fifth time. He said he had thought about playing in the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago at Quail Hollow in Charlotte but he wasn’t eager about putting in the hard work so soon after his emotional grinder of a victory at Augusta National.

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t ready yet to start the grind of practicing and preparing and logging all those hours again,” he said. “I was feeling good in the gym but I wasn’t mentally prepared to log in the hours. Coming here is a different story. I was able to log in the hours, put in the time and I feel rested and ready.

“That’s going to be the interesting part going forward – how much do I play and how much do I rest? I think I’ve done a lot of the hard work already, trying to find my game over the last year and a half. Now I think it’s just maintaining it. I know I feel better when I’m fresh. The body doesn’t respond like it used to, doesn’t bounce back quite as well, so I’ve got to be aware of that.”

Wearing a ski cap over his golf cap with temperatures in the upper 40s, Woods practiced all day Tuesday and planned to play nine holes on Wednesday. He is no stranger to Bethpage Black, having won the 2002 U.S. Open here.

“Driving is going to be at the forefront with the rough as lush as it is,” he said. “The fairways are plenty wide because it’s wet.

“There have been significant changes in length but when it comes right down to it, if the greens dry out here, this is all the golf course you want because they’re pitched just enough where you’re going to have some tough putts.”

Woods briefly addressed an ESPN report Tuesday that detailed a wrongful death suit filed against Woods, his girlfriend and his restaurant in Jupiter, Fla., by the family of a former employee. The suit said Nicholas Immesberger, 24, had a blood-alcohol reading of .256, more than three times the legal limit in Florida, when he was killed last December in an automobile accident.

“We’re all very sad that Nick passed away,” Woods said. “It was a terrible night, a terrible ending. We feel bad for him and his entire family. It’s very sad.”