INTERNATIONAL: Tiger Woods said on Wednesday he was not recovering as quickly as he would like from the leg injuries he sustained in a car crash last February but remained confident about returning to the PGA Tour one day and welcomed the fight it would take.
"My golf activity has been very limited. I can chip and putt really well and hit short irons very well, but I haven't done any long stuff seriously," Woods, 46, told reporters at Riviera Country Club. "I'm still working on the walking part... it takes time.
"What's frustrating is it's not at my timetable. I want to be at a certain place, but I'm not. I've just got to continue working. I'm getting better, yes, but as I said, not at the speed and rate that I would like."
Woods was a non-playing host last year at Riviera where, two days after the final round, the vehicle he was driving veered across the opposite lanes, collided with a road sign and rolled several times before coming to rest.
The accident resulted in a three-week hospital stay for Woods, during which he faced the possibility of having his right leg amputated, followed by three months where he was confined to a hospital-type bed at his home in South Florida.
In his first public appearance since the accident, Woods said last November ahead of the Hero World Challenge where he was tournament host that he had no desire to be a full-time player on the PGA Tour again but hoped to play here and there.
Two weeks later, Woods competed with his 12-year-old son in a laid-back, 36-hole team event featuring major champions and a family member where the state of his game impressed onlookers.
Woods, whose tally of 15 career major titles trails only the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus, said playing with his son in an event where competitors used carts did not make him think a comeback was around the corner.
"Being a weekend warrior is easy, that's not that hard. Hit your ball, hop in a cart, ride, barely step out of the cart, grab your club and hit the next one," said Woods. "I can do that, that's not that hard, but walking a golf course, that's a totally different deal.
"Then walking out here for days on end, long days. Don't forget when my back was bad when we had rain delays and had to reactivate everything and go back out there again. I've still got that issue, too. I've got a long way to go."
"Will I come back? Yes. Will I come back and play a full schedule? No," said Woods.
"I can play certain events here and there but on a full-time level, no, that will never happen again."