Tiger Woods admits he has a long road to recovery after his latest setback - but he is raring to go for the latest edition of 'The Match' alongside Rory McIlroy.
Woods was forced to pull out of last week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas citing plantar fasciitis, a foot injury that developed as he returned to walking courses during his rehabilitation.
But the 15-time major champion will be able to use a golf buggy in Saturday's exhibition match, meaning he has no qualms over his ability to play in the highly-anticipated contest.
Woods will partner world No.1 McIlroy in a 12-hole shootout under the lights against US Ryder Cup stars Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth this weekend. The showdown's format is best ball, where each player plays his own ball and the lowest score of the two players on each hole is used as the team score.
"I can hit golf balls. It's just hard getting from point A to point B, so (the buggy) will certainly help a lot," Woods said on Wednesday.
He added: "I'm able to hit golf shots. "JT (Thomas) has been out there watching me practice. But being in a cart is a totally different deal. That's something I've done at home at Medalist quite a bit.
"When I was trying to gear up and be able to play in the Hero and see if I could actually do it, the walking part was the challenge, it wasn't actually swinging."
Woods also used a buggy to get around the course at Albany last week and continues to suffer from the horror single vehicle car crash in February 2021 that had left him fearing foot amputation.
He has played just nine competitive rounds in three majors since the crash that threatened his ability to walk, defying logic to make the cut on the hilly fairways of Augusta National at this year's Masters.
And Woods hasn't played competitively since missing the cut at the 150th Open Championship in July, where he waved an emotional goodbye to St Andrews. But he will finally be hitting shots on our TV screens once again, albeit not in a 72-hole tournament and with the aid of a buggy, as he negotiates the Pelican Golf Club outside Florida on Saturday.
"I've got to get this plantar to heal, and that just takes time," Woods added. "It's not something that happens overnight. It's going to take a lot of rest and healing and unfortunately treatment. It's a tough road (for) anyone who has ever had it."
Meanwhile, Woods is also currently scheduled to team up with his son Charlie once again at next weekend's PNC Championship in Orlando.
