Tiger Woods says he doesn’t know if he’ll play in 2016

Woods hasn't played competitively for nearly a year

Tiger Woods is currently 40/1 to win The Open at Royal Troon, which starts in under three weeks’ time. We wouldn’t advocate betting your life savings on it, especially as Tiger has just admitted he’s not sure if he’ll even be able to play competitive golf in 2016.

“I don’t know,” said Woods, when asked if there’s a chance he won’t tee it up this year. 

“I want to play,” added 40-year-old Woods. “Put it that way. I want to play. I don’t know if I will. But I do want to. But I’m trying. I’m trying each and every day I’m doing my workouts. I’m working my tail off.”

Woods, who has undergone several operations on a back injury that has trouble him for years, says he won’t risk putting his body on the line again. 

“I’m going to do it right so I don’t have another surgery,” he said, conceding that he had attempted to come back too soon from previous injury layoffs. 

On a more optimistic note, Woods did say that he is now able to play 18 holes on consecutive days, something that has been beyond him for a long time. 

Woods’ last competitive appearance was in August 2015, finishing tied-tenth at the Wyndham Championship.

Nobody knows when he’ll be back in action – even Woods himself. 

“I’m just playing it week to week, and I keep getting better,” he said. “I keep getting physically better. I just hope that everything clicks in and I can do it sooner rather than later.”

Most golf fans and pundits agree that Woods’ next comeback will be his last, so it is no surprise that he is unwilling to rush things.