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Golf

Tiger Woods: Last 18 months have been "more than brutal"

Tiger Woods lasted just one round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic last week after being forced ...



Tiger Woods: Last 18 months ha...
Golf

Tiger Woods: Last 18 months have been "more than brutal"

Tiger Woods lasted just one round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic last week after being forced to pull out due to back spasms. 

The 14-time major winner made his long awaited return to the course this year, competing at Torrey Pines but missed the cut.

He then took part in Dubai but could not manage to find any source of form and shot a 77 for his opening round.

Released today by Vision.ae which "offers fresh perspectives from Dubai for an international readership", Woods speaks candidly about his struggles to return to fitness and his game as a whole. 

"It's been a while since I've been fit enough to play," he tells Peter Dawson, chairman of Falcon Golf and former chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

"[The time away from golf] was tough. I mean it was more than brutal. There were times when I physically didn't know if I could get out of bed. There were times when I physically needed help to get out of bed. It was one of the hardest things to wrap my head around. 

"I had a lot of great people around to help me, help keep my spirits up and two of the most important people in my life kept my spirits up everyday. They were my kids. 

"There were plenty of times when I thought I would never play the game again at an elite level."

Woods has struggled to shake off a back injury and has had to undergo surgery. Already abandoning one return to the course, many see this as Woods' best chance to break back into the world of professional golf.

"You put in the leg work. You've got to get in the gym. You've got to hit balls. You've got to refine your game and not make dumb mistakes out there on the golf course. In order to do that, you've got to play a lot. And I couldn't play.

"Playing once every three or four weeks is not going to cut it. There were a lot of times when I didn't think I would make it back."

The video also shows Woods grimace as he takes a seat in and when asked about how he feels at the time he replies: "I feel good not great.

"Granted I don't think I'll ever feel great after three back surgeries and four knee operations. I'm always going to be a little bit sore, but so long as I can function and function at a good enough level then I'm fine with that."

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