30 November 2023 , 23:18
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Tiger Woods has reflected on his first round of professional golf for more than seven months - and gave a blunt response to a question about his fitness.
The 15-time major champion played the first round of the Hero World Challenge on Thursday in the Bahamas. It was the first time that Woods has played a competitive round of golf since he withdrew from the Masters at Augusta National in April.
Woods scored a three-over-par round to finish in 18th place in the 20-player field at the end of Thursday. Wyndham Clark and Will Zalatoris were the only two players to finish below Woods in the leaderboard at the end of the first round.
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Tony Finau and Open champion Brian Harman have the clubhouse lead after both scoring five-under rounds. Jordan Spieth is on his own in third place at three-under par, while several players occupy a tie for fourth place at two-under including Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, and Collin Morikawa.
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Woods underwent surgery on his ankle earlier in the year, which has meant he has spent the majority of the year in rehab and recovery. Thursday was the first time that he has played a competitive round of golf since April 7 after withdrawing ahead of the third round at the Masters.
After competing his round, Woods spoke to reporters where he was asked how his body felt fitness-wise.
In an interview with Golfweek, the reporter asked Woods: "Where do you feel sore?" Woods gave a one-word response where he said: "Everywhere."
"My leg, my back, my neck," Woods added when asked for where it was the most. "Just from playing and hitting shots, trying to hold off shots. It's just different at game speed, too. Game speed is a lot different than at-home speed."
Tiger Woods had not played a competitive round of golf since the Masters in April before the Hero World Challenge (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)Woods also spoke about how his ankle felt following his opening round at the Albany Golf Club in Nassau. The 47-year-old underwent successful surgery in April and was absent from three majors in the PGA Championship, the US Open, and The British Open as he worked his way to returning to the course.
"As I said earlier, I was going to have this ankle either replaced or fused at some point," said Woods. "It just wore out and I was dealing with bone-on-bone for a number of months and tournaments playing, so I don't have to worry about that anymore."
Woods will take part in the second round of the Hero World Challenge on Friday, as he looks to have a successful first week back in professional golf. The 20-player tournament does not have a cut, meaning Woods will be able to play the full 72 holes for the competition regardless of how he scores.