The rumor at Oakmont was that Tiger Woods was planning to plan in the Open Championship. There's a lot of Woods scuttlebutt -- always has been -- but the question of if and when we'll see Woods play competitive golf again is among the hotter topics in the sport.
Woods said Wednesday at the Quicken Loans National that he's making progress toward a return, more than his last update at this venue in May, when he put three balls in the water from 103 yards.
"I'm still progressing, I'm still getting stronger," said Woods, who is the tournament host. "I'm excited about what has transpired so far."
Woods said he has been able to finally play 18 holes, play on back-to-back days and is getting closer to a practice schedule that resembles what he would do when he's healthy. However, Woods maintained there's still a ways to go.
"I just need to still get in I guess more golf shape, try to hit more golf balls, things of that nature," he said. He added, "It's about me playing 36 holes daily, on a daily basis, getting up to speed and playing. I'm not quite there yet. I'm trying to get there, I'm trying to get there as fast as I can, but I'm trying to do it right at the same time. As you know, I've pushed through a lot of injuries and rehabs before in the past. Trying to do it correctly this time."
The 14-time major winner said it was more important for him to be able to do day-to-day activities because that means he can maintain a lifestyle he expects. That progress, then, leads into spending more time getting ready to play again. Woods, however, declined to offer a percentage figure of where he is in his comeback or his health.
"Percentage wise, I'm not going to get into that, but I can tell you that I'm getting better and the fact that I'm able to play with my kids and play soccer with them and ride bikes and do all that kind of stuff, which I wasn't able to do that before, so I am getting better," he said.
Ultimately, Woods' peers are uncertain of his comeback date. However, the talk seems to fall in one of two camps: a larger one suggesting Woods might never return and another suggesting he could still make some hay when he gets healthy.
As for the guy who used to say he would only enter tournaments to win, he seems to hopefully he'll soon have a chance to see if he still has the game to win.
"I just hope that everything clicks in," Woods said, "and I can do it sooner rather than later."
