Tiger Woods said on Wednesday that he is free of pain and ready to go on the eve of his latest return to professional golf, but itted that his body is still adapting to ankle fusion surgery.
The 15-time major champion underwent treatment in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round and did not compete again until the Hero World Challenge in December.
The former world number one is set to play his first PGA Tour event of 2024 at the Genesis Invitational in California.
48 year-old Woods, who previously said he expects to participate in one event per month this year, said his love of the game remains undiminished and wants to continue to play for as long as possible.
"My ankle doesn't hurt any more," he said at the pre-tournament press conference. "The bones aren't rubbing any more. "But then again it's different, other parts of my body have to take the brunt of it, just like my back is fused and so other parts of my body have taken the brunt of that. I have two different body parts that are now fused. Other parts of the body have to adapt."
"As far as the love, I still love competing, I love playing, I love being a part of the game of golf. This is the game of a lifetime and I don't ever want to stop playing."
Woods also spoke about whether there are discussions about pathways back to the PGA Tour for those players who have left for LIV.
"We're looking into all the different models for pathways back," he said. "Trust me, there's daily, weekly emails and talks about this and what this looks like for our Tour going forward."