Tiger Woods won't rule out return for one of his favorite events

Nowhere near ready for 72 holes of competitive golf, Tiger Woods voiced optimism about his progress in another bid to return from back surgery.

"I'm excited about what's transpired so far," Woods said at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where he's on hand as host of the Quicken Loans National.

Woods advanced his rehab recently to play pain-free rounds on consecutive days. When he gets that number to four or five successive rounds, he plans to be back on the PGA Tour.

"It's about trying to recover for the next day," he said. "I guess I still need to get in golf shape."

Good friend Michael Jordan said after the Masters that he was sensing Woods might be ready to retire because he lost his drive, but Woods is taking his return a day at a time to avoid another setback. Woods last played in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. Since then, he's slowly working to build strength in his legs and core. When he returns, he wants to be able to hang with big hitters off the tee such as 2016 U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson.

Photo by Pete Marovich/UPI

Woods would not rule out returning in three weeks for one of his favorite events, The Open Championship, at Royal Troon. If he can overcome post-round soreness in the coming weeks, expect Woods in the British field.

While he's away, Woods is keeping close tabs on the tour and said he paid close attention to the final round at Oakmont on Sunday.

In real-time, Woods, a 14-time major champion, and Rory McIlroy were vocal in criticism of the USGA's handling of a possible post-round penalty for Johnson, who played the back nine under the uncertainty of his final score taking a one-stroke hit. The USGA ultimately ruled Johnson had not caused his ball to move on a practice swing.

"I watched. It was awful. No one had a clue," Woods said.