Tiger Woods, beset by injuries and the decline of his playing career, appears to have at least one person who still believes in him. And that person is Tiger Woods. In an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS on Thursday night, the former world No1 said he is targeting an imminent return to golf as well as more victories in the majors.
Woods has not played competitively since August 2015 after three separate operations on his back, and pulled out of a planned return earlier this month after describing his game as “vulnerable”. But he told Rose on Thursday that he is “hoping to come back in December”. Rose then asked Woods if he expected to equal Jack Nicklaus’s record total of 18 majors. “No … I’ve accepted I’m going to get more,” Woods replied. Woods’s last victory in a major was at the 2008 US Open, the 14th major title of his career.
Woods also described his respect for Nicklaus’s achievements. “I looked up to him, I looked at his record. ... I wouldn’t say I lusted for his record. I just think that was the gold standard because he had won the most majors and the second-most Tour events. And here he is at 18.”
Woods also said he missed competing against his fellow professionals. “Do I miss it? Absolutely, 100%. And to be at my age now, at 40 years old … I’m the first one to admit: I can’t do the things I used to be able to do. Most people can’t at my age, versus when they were younger. I have to find different ways to go about it.”
At his peak, Woods was arguably the most famous athlete in the world and he spoke about the pressures that came with that tag. “Well, it’s a burden in … the amount of obligations that I have at a tournament. The anonymity that was lost … if you look back, the only regret I have in life is not spending another year at Stanford [where Woods attended college], and I wish I would’ve had one more year.”
