Golf

Tiger Woods ‘on schedule’ for vague summer return: agent

Tiger Woods’ latest comeback is still on track.

According to his agent, Mark Steinberg, Woods has begun light chipping and has had no setbacks since undergoing back surgery on March 31. Steinberg said that Woods still expects to return to play this summer.

“He’s doing a little bit more and more each day,” Steinberg told ESPN.com. “He’s getting to the point of light chipping and putting and the doctors and trainers seem to be pleased with where he is. He is on schedule but we don’t know what that schedule means. I don’t know when he intends to be playing competitively.

“But I expect it to be this summer. I know that’s a wide range, but as the weeks go by we’ll be able to pinpoint an approximate time. It’s still a little early for that. Nothing that has gone on from the day of the surgery until today gives me any pause to amend what I said then. I know that’s broad and vague but we can’t pinpoint a specific time until we’re further along.”

The 38-year-old last played on March 9, with the pinched nerve causing him to miss the Masters for the first time in 20 years.

“The level of discomfort he was in prior to having this was incredibly high,” Steinberg said. “That pain went away close to right after the surgery. The pain was mostly from the surgery itself. But the pain he was in and causing him to force the surgery is gone.”

Woods’ latest injury may result in the longest stretch of a season he has ever missed. In 2011, Woods missed nearly four months with knee and Achilles injuries, but felt as if he came back too early. Steinberg said that Woods will be more patient this time. The US Open begins June 12 at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

“I’ve seen a very responsible approach to getting back,” Steinberg said. “This is about the next 10 or 15 years, this is not about the next 10 weeks. This is not about targeting any specific tournament. If he needs to wait one or two or three extra weeks he will. He’s thinking about this very, very long term.”