Tiger Woods, 47, Promises His Rusty Ankle is Sturdy Enough For Competition

Despite golfing legend Tiger Woods still having trouble with his right ankle and dealing with plantar fasciitis, the 47-year-old athlete will be competing in an upcoming official PGA Tour event.

Roughly two years ago, Woods was involved in a car crash that nearly cost him his ability to walk. The golfer underwent multiple surgeries to assist him in recovery and has been in physical therapy ever since. “It’s gotten so much better the last couple of months,” he noted in a press conference before admitting his foot still struggles every day.

In the last year, the athlete was forced to pull out from multiple competitions, including the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July. Additionally, he withdrew from Hero World Challenge, an event he hosts in the Bahamas in December, citing plantar fasciitis as the culprit. Despite claims that his foot still has its issues, he feels prepared to compete again.

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“As far as the recovery, it’s more my ankle, whether I can recover from day to day,” Woods told reported during a news conference on Tuesday, according to ESPN. “The leg is better than it was last year, but it’s my ankle. So being able to have it recover from day to day and meanwhile still stress it but have the recovery and also have the strength development at the same time, it’s been an intricate little balance that we’ve had to dance.”

Although Woods recognized that his foot could still use extra support, he felt confident in his ability to return to a PGA event.

Tiger Woods admits he’s ‘rusty’ on the golf course

“I’m excited to go out there and compete and play with these guys… I would not have put myself out here if I didn’t think I could beat these guys and win the event. That’s my mentality,” he explained. “I am very rusty, but I’ve come off a rusty situation before, and I’ve done well.”

Woods paired with Rory McIlroy to compete against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in The Match, a 12-hole exhibition for charity, but this will be his first solo PGA event in nearly seven months. Recognizing his previous work on a team, the golfer believes his leg won’t hinder his upcoming competition.

“I was able to play out of the cart and hit shots and do whatever I wanted, but I just didn’t have the endurance in my ankle, so we’ve been working on that,” said Woods. “I can still hit shots, but it’s the walking endurance that’s hard. That’s something that we’ve had to work on — walking distances on the beach, just basically stress it out but also be able to recover by the next day and see how it is inflammation-wise and then keep practicing.”