NARASHINO, Japan: Tiger Woods has indicated he might use one of his four Presidents Cup captain’s picks on himself, noting that his fitness was ahead of schedule following an arthroscopic knee surgery.
“I’m probably a week early. My season had ended a little bit earlier than I had expected it,” the 15-time major winner was quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) as telling reporters at Narashino Country Club near Tokyo.
“I had the procedure a little bit early and got ahead of it,” he added.
Woods was in Japan to play in the US PGA Tour’s inaugural Zozo Championship, a $9.75 million event that was the second tournament of an almost $30 million Asian swing.
Woods, according to the AFP report, intends to round off his year by playing in the Hero World Challenge on December 4, before going to Australia to captain Team USA in the Presidents Cup, which begins on December 13.
“I thought that I had enough time to rehab it correctly and be ready for this event, be ready for Hero, and I’m going to Australia either way whether I’m playing or not,” Woods said.
“I had it done and, as I said, it’s been nice to be able to squat down and read putts and I started going at it full speed again.”
Woods, who completed a remarkable return from years of injury and personal problems to win the US Masters in April, said his knee had been giving him more pain as the year wore on.
