5 biggest takeaways from Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge 2023 press conference

Tiger Woods will make his most awaited comeback at this week's Hero World Challenge. The tournament is already making the headlines after the 15-time major champion announced his comeback after four months.

Woods has been on break since April after he withdrew from the Masters to focus on his recovery. He is currently doing fine and will make his much-awaited return this week.

Ahead of the commencement of the tournament, Woods held a press conference on Tuesday, November 28, at Albany. He spoke about numerous topics, ranging from the shocking merger of the LIV Golf and PGA Tour, his health, and many other things.

Here are the top five takeaways from Tiger Woods' press conference at the 2023 Hero World Challenge.

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5 biggest takeaways from Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge 2023 press conference

#1 Tiger Woods gives an update on his health

Tiger Woods opened up about his health at the 2023 Hero World Challenge press conference. He had a subtalar fusion in April and has been on hiatus since then. However, following the surgery his ankle is pain-free and he can walk easily now.

Speaking about his ankle, Woods said as quoted by Golf Monthly:

"I'm not concerned at all about walking [it]. As I said, I don't have any of the ankle pain that I had with the hardware that's been placed in my foot, that's all gone."

Woods, however, added that other parts of his body still hurt.

"The other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back," he added. "The forces go somewhere else. Just like when I had my back fused, the forces have to go somewhere. So it's up the chain."

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#2 His gameplay

Woods also spoke about his gameplay and performances. The five-time Masters winner said his game felt rusty as he hadn't played for a while. Woods last competed at the Masters in April but withdrew from the competition after playing a few holes of the third round.

Speaking about his game, the American golfer stated:

"My game feels rusty, I haven't played in a while. I'm excited to compete and play, and I'm just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven't done it in a while."

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#3 PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger

Woods also expressed his frustration, as no players were involved in the shocking merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. He said:

"I was frustrated with the fact that the players were never involved. This is our Tour and we were taken back by it. It happened so quickly without any of our involvement. No one knew. That can't happen again."

It is important to note that earlier this Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, announced a merger with the LIV Golf. However, the agreement is currently being investigated by the US government and the decision is still pending with the probability to be announced by the end of December 2023.

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#4 Tiger Woods speaks about 2024 season

Woods restricted himself to competing in only major tournaments in 2023. However, following his recovery, Woods is confident that he can play at least one event every month in 2024.

"I think that best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month. I think that's realistic. Again, right now, the biggest events are one per month," Woods said.

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#5 Woods is in contention to win again

No injury can undermine the confidence of Tiger Woods. Having won over 100 professional tournaments in his career, the legendary golfer believes he can still win more despite his injuries and health issues.

Woods, who is in his late 40s, has commented on the Hero World Challenge and is looking forward to clinching the trophy.

Woods said:

"I love competing, I love playing. I miss being out here with the guys, I miss the camaraderie and the fraternity-like atmosphere out here and the overall banter. But what drives me is I love to compete."

The 2023 Hero World Challenge is all set to start with the inaugural round on Thursday, November 30. It will run through the weekend to conclude with the finale on Sunday, December 3.