Caddie Joe LaCava hints Tiger Woods won't play again until Hero World Challenge

Golf living legend Tiger Woods made it clear both before and after last week's Open Championship at St. Andrews that he will not be retiring from competitive play anytime soon. 

Woods, who turns 47 years old before the end of the year and likely will never physically be the same following the February 2021 single-vehicle accident that nearly cost him at least his leg, missed the cut at St. Andrews but nevertheless received a hero's welcome as he approached the 18th green on Friday. That moment served as the latest reminder that fans will continue to flock to courses to watch Woods play for the foreseeable future. 

ESPN's Mark Schlabach noted that Woods may not participate in a tournament again until he hosts the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in late November. Per Jared Greenspan of the New York Post, Joe LaCava, Woods' longtime caddie, seemed to echo that take during a Thursday morning appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show." 

"I’ll say, 'Hey, Tiger, listen. If you’re starting to feel better, maybe in October, November, maybe I’ll come down [to Florida] for a couple weeks, we’ll hang out,'" LaCava remarked. "'We don’t have to play every day, we don’t have to practice every day. I’ll be there and maybe give you a little motivation. We’ll go down and play and practice a little bit here and there to get ready for the Hero and get ready for the following year of 2023.'

"We’ll get him ready in any respect that he needs."

LaCava added the plan is for Woods to play "three, maybe four" tournaments before next spring's Masters.