Tiger Woods said he was “not competitive” as he prepares for his first tournament rounds since his latest back surgery.

Fifteen-time major champion Woods will play alongside 15-year-old son Charlie at the PNC Championship over the weekend in his first tournament since The Open in July.

The 48-year-old underwent microdepression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back in September, the latest of several back operations. 

Woods opted against playing in the Hero World Challenge earlier this month and said there were times he thought he may miss out on teaming up with his son, too.

"My leg is what it is. It's still here. But this year I struggled a lot with my back, and it's a lot better. But I still have a long way to go," Woods said. 

"That was one of the reasons why I had the surgery done earlier, so that hopefully I could give myself the best chance to be with Charlie and be able to play.

"I'm not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again.

"This has always been one of the bigger highlights of the year for us as a family, and now we get to have that moment together again.

"Preparing for competitive play is different. That takes months, weeks. But it starts with each and every day. You just do the little things, the mundane, correctly, and they add up.

"Unfortunately, I've gone through this process a number of times. It's frustrating. I have an amazing team, but I have to do the little things on a daily basis and get away from everybody. It's hard."

Team Woods has arrived pic.twitter.com/rk5CHHxmiS

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 20, 2024

Woods handed the Hero World Challenge trophy to Scottie Scheffler after he secured his 16th victory in under three years by successfully retaining that title in The Bahamas.

Scheffler has won nine times in 2024 alone, including a second major at The Masters and Olympic gold in Paris, with Woods believing his fellow American's success will continue.

"I think that it's just that consistency over the course of the last couple years. He moves around a lot in his swing, but if you watch that ball flight, it doesn't really do a lot," he said.

"He has an amazing feel for hitting the ball at the right number. That's just something that is innate.

"I think how he's handled the pressure and the expectations… he's doing an unbelievable job. He's just coming into his own. This is the fun part of watching him develop.

"This is going to be the start of an unbelievable year.

"We can all make errors, we can all have hot runs. But how good is your bad? Everyone's good is good out there, but his bad is really impressive.

"He doesn't do a lot wrong, understands how to not compound mistakes. Not making mistakes adds up."