Tiger Woods provides grim update on his golf future

Tiger Woods broke his silence and spoke with reporters in The Bahamas ahead of the Hero World Challenge on Tuesday. As encouraging as it was to see him walking and talking in public, his words painted a different picture of his future as a competitive golfer. 

Woods, who ruptured his Achilles in March and underwent back surgery in October—his seventh since 2014—said he isn't sure when he'll be able to play competitive golf again.

"I just started this process," Woods said, via Paul Hodowanic of PGA Tour.com. "A disc replacement takes time. It's longer—it's not as long as a fusion, thank god, but it's going to take time."

Woods said he was just cleared to chip and putt last week. Getting back in the gym to build up strength and working up to full swings will take much longer. 

At the very least, Woods won't be able to play in the PNC Championship in December alongside his son, Charlie. He also said he won't be ready for the start of the TGL season before the new year, but he hopes to compete in the simulator league by March. 

As for the PGA Tour, that's a much harder question to answer. 

When will Tiger Woods play on the PGA Tour again?