Tiger Woods: "unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again"

On Wednesday, Tiger Woods released a statement through his website stating that he hasn’t “felt this good in years.”

"“It has been just over a month since I underwent fusion surgery on my back, and it is hard to express how much better I feel. It was instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years.”"

Woods’ attempted to return to the PGA Tour earlier this season, but after a few unsuccessful appearances he stepped away and had another procedure done on his back to help alleviate the pain he’s been experiencing.

"“I could no longer live with the pain I had. We tried every possible non-surgical route and nothing worked. I had good days and bad days, but the pain was usually there, and I couldn’t do much. Even lying down hurt. I had nerve pain with anything I did and was at the end of my rope. The process leading up to my decision to have surgery was exhaustive. I consulted with a specialist, and after weighing my options, that’s when I decided to go to Texas to have surgery.”"

Woods also says that he did all he could to try and be ready to play in the Masters, but the pain he felt after swinging the club was too much.

The good news for Tiger fans is that Woods does plan on returning to competitive golf.

"“As for returning to competitive golf, the long-term prognosis is positive. My surgeon and physiotherapist say the operation was successful. It’s just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse. I’m walking and doing my exercises, and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s no hurry. “But, I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again. “Presently, I’m not looking ahead. I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals.”"

So, just like always, we all have to just wait and see if this surgery actually helps him out. If not, golf will be just fine with Tiger in his current role.

[Via Tiger]