Tiger Woods Admits He Was in More Pain During Genesis Tournament 'Than I Probably Let On'

Gregory Shamus/Getty Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is happy to be back competing on the golf course as he continues to work on his health — even if it means some pain.

While the golf legend finished tied for 45th at the Genesis Invitational on Sunday, participating in the event at all was a personal victory.

"To be out here competitively is different. I miss the fraternity of the guys," the 47-year-old golfer told Yahoo Sports after the tournament. "Because I haven't played a lot in the last few years, there's a tremendous amount of turnover. … There's a lot of new faces out here that are going to be the future of our tour that I got a chance to see and play with. It's neat to see the turnover. It's neat to see the guys who are playing the best right now."

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This was Woods' first time competing in a sanctioned tournament since the Open Championship in July 2022, and his first time in a PGA Tour event since 2020.

Woods has slowly eased his way back to the sport since his single-vehicle rollover car crash in February 2021 left him with "significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity."

"My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is, I just can't [try to play much more than the majors]," Woods explained Sunday. "That's just going to be my future … I know that and I understand that. That's just my reality."

The 82-time PGA Tour winner is now looking forward to taking time to recover after this weekend's tournament.

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He explained: "It certainly was a little bit more difficult than I probably let on. My team has been fantastic in getting my body recovered day to day and getting me ready to play each and every day."

Woods detailed that the recovery process is "hard mentally" and "hard physically" as he "lays in ice pretty much all night" to get his muscles activated and then "hops in the cold again."

He previously shared with reporters ahead of the Hero World Challenge tournament in December that he has turned his focus to competing in "just the major championships" as his time in the sport nears its end.

"The goal is to play just the major championships and maybe one or two more. That's it," Woods, told reporters, per Yahoo Sports. "I mean, that's physically, that's all I can do," he added.

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Woods said he "didn't expect to play three majors" last year and was hopeful he'd just get to compete in the British Open. "But I was able to get two more in there, so that was a big positive."

"I like playing, I like competing," said Woods, "but unfortunately — I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever shot you want — I just can't walk."