Tiger Woods talks pain meds, his surgically repaired back, 2018 expectations

Big Cat held a long press conference on Tuesday to discuss a wide variety of topics

Tiger Woods spoke to the media by himself on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year. Woods touched on his struggles with pain medication, how his back feels and what he's trying to get out of this week. Here are a few notes: 

• Woods said he likes to hit and giggle and play for "some denominations," and that he missed playing fun golf with his friends. The fourth back surgery "was about quality of life. I miss playing golf for fun."

• He had friends and other people ask him, "Why don't you go out to dinner?" He said, "I can't. I can't sit." It's meant a lot to be able to play with his kids again, he said. 

• Why is this year different than all the others? "This is very different. Last year I was still struggling with a little bit of pain." He said it looked like he was playing in slo-mo. "I didn't realize how bad my back had become and how much I was flinching and just how slow I was. It's been a slow, degrading process." He thought he had some speed but looked back on it and thought, "Man, I didn't have much at all."

• He has been playing great rounds with the guys at home. He's gotten to know a lot of them at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Played with Rory, Berger, Thomas, Rickie, Dustin. "It was fun to be able to do that."

• He hasn't hit all the shots yet. Specifically out of the deep rough. Hasn't hit big slices and big, roping hooks. Let his body tell him what he can and can't do. Eventually, he will do those things, but he doesn't need those shots for this event.

• Regarding his struggle with pain meds, DUI and rehabilitation, Woods said, "I've come out the other side, and I feel fantastic. Now that I'm feeling the way I'm feeling, it's hard to imagine I was living the way I was living." He said his foot and leg didn't work and he couldn't sleep because of the pain.

• As a follow up to this, Woods noted, "I was trying to go away from the pain, and I was trying to sleep. I'm loving life now."

• He has not watched video from the DUI.

• Lionel Messi is his son's Charlie's idol. He plays FIFA all the time and is always Messi. "It's pretty neat to see my kids in awe like that." He asked them, "Isn't it neat to meet a living legend?" His daughter Sam replied, "Yeah, we live with one." Woods laughed, "They think I'm the YouTube golfer."

• He was hitting shots 320 yards and his daughter couldn't see them.

• He wants kids to see what he's been able to do his entire career. "I want them to come to a few events, I want them to feel it." Compared it to Nicklaus' son being on the bag at Augusta in 1986 when he won.

• He was asked how he will handle pain in the future in light of his struggle with pain medication. "That's where you have doctors, and they'll help me if that is the case."

• In regards to how his game fits his new body, Woods said, "I don't know. I'm winging this."

• Woods said the pain is gone, but that doesn't mean his body is perfect. "I don't have pain anymore in my back, but I do have some stiffness. It's fused." The average age of his procedure is 58, but other golfers who have gotten it aren't a good barometer because they weren't swinging with the velocity Woods is swinging.

• He didn't realize the slow and degrading nature of his back. "It was a slow process. I don't know how I was able to do it ... even back in 2013." The pain shot down his leg in 2013 at Liberty National, "And it never went away."

• Neatest thing for him is to get up out of bed, grab a club and not use it as a crutch. "You don't know how exciting that is." He said he's thankful for having the procedure. No pain. "I'm just stiff."

• His first 9-iron went 80 yards. "I was afraid to hit it." Then he asked his doctor, "Can I hit a flighted 2-iron again? Drop down and hit the stinger?" His doctor replied, "Absolutely, you're fused, go." 

• He wants to get through four rounds at this event. "I don't know where I'm at." Also is unsure about schedule for 2018. "I really want to be able to compete this week." Wants to give himself a chance to win this tournament on Sunday.

• It took Woods a while to let himself go a little bit with his swing. He was concerned about "full go," but he's been able to bang it around with tour pros. "That was fun to be able to say, 'I can keep up with [Rickie].'"

• His doctor told him, "You'll be fine for the rest of your life. How hard is it to break a leg? I'm still trying to sink in that I can start doing things ... start being more athletic. There's still some apprehension going forward. This week is a big step for me."

• Woods was still struggling with nerve issues at Isleworth in 2014. Last year was better "but not where it's at now." Able to live life without pain zinging down leg. "It is very different." Different than last two comebacks at the Hero World Challenge. "This year, it's night and day."