Tiger Woods comments on return to competitive golf, rehab progress

Tiger Woods is "progressing nicely" but did not set a date for his return to competitive golf since undergoing a third back surgery last year.

"If I knew, I'd tell you. It'd be fun to know," Woods said Monday. "It'd be nice to know I'm going to play on such and such a date, but I don't know."

Woods spoke at Congressional Country Club, home of the Quicken Loans National in Bethesda, Md., where he hosts the June tournament which benefits his foundation.

The 14-time major champion said he is getting stronger and hitting the ball better during practice at his home club in Florida.

"Health? I feel good. Thank you. My kids are sick, but I'm good," Woods joked.

"On a serious note, I have been practicing at home. I'm progressing nicely. I'm hoping to play (the Quicken Loans National). I don't know that I'm going to play. That's the overriding question I keep hearing: 'When are you coming back? When are you playing?' I get it all the time."

The Quicken Loans National is scheduled for June 23-26, the week after the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Woods, a the three-time U.S. Open champion, has registered to play in this year's U.S. Open.

The 40-year-old Woods had two procedures on his back in 2015, bringing his total to three.

The Wyndham Championship in August was Woods' last event before he went back under the knife. He finished 10th. Woods has fallen outside the top 500 in the world ranking.

"I'm trying to get stronger, more pliable," Woods said. "I'm hitting the ball better. Everything about my game is coming around. Now it's just a matter of being consistent with it. Not only at home with the boys at Medalist and trying to take their cash but coming out here and doing it against the best players in the world is a completely different deal.

"The plan is to get well. Whether that's next week or a year from now, I don't know. That's the hard part, me telling you I don't know. My doctors don't know. I don't know. ... I have to keep progressing and getting stronger, which I am, and that's the good part."