Tiger Woods says he is planning to return to action in October after missing over a year of competitive action. The 40-year-old has undergone multiple back surgeries over past year and has not competed since August 2015.
The 14-time major winner has a long history of injury problems. Here he has cream rubbed onto his back by caddy Steve Williams during the 2004 American Express Championship.
In October 2010, Woods appears dejected after losing a match to Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in the Ryder Cup teams competition in Wales. Later that month he lost his No. 1 ranking to Westwood, a position he had held for 281 consecutive weeks. He had taken a break from golf earlier that year after reports of marital infidelities emerged in late 2009.
Woods misses a putt at the Frys.com Open in October 2011. That month, he fell out of golf's top 50 for the first time in almost 15 years. Woods reportedly lost millions in endorsements after sponsors ended their ties with him in the wake of his sex scandal.
Despite his problems, Woods remained a key attraction -- being invited to the 2011 Australian Open, where he finished third. That year he was the highest-paid American athlete on
Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list.
In July 2011, Woods dropped Williams, his caddy of 12 years. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change,"
Woods said.
After a nearly three-month break, Woods returned to golf at the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2011.
In October 2011,
Woods landed Rolex as a sponsor despite not having won a major tournament in nearly two years. "Rolex is convinced that Tiger Woods still has a long career ahead of him," the high-end watchmaker said. The following month he played for the U.S. in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.
In December 2011, Woods earned his first win in two years at the
Chevron World Challenge, a charity tournament that he hosts which does not count on the PGA Tour money list.
Woods signs autographs at the
Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2012. His win there marked his first PGA Tour victory since September 2009.
Woods drops the ball on the 15th fairway during the final round of the AT&T National in July 2012.
He overtook Jack Nicklaus for second place on the all-time PGA Tour victory list and now has 79 overall -- three behind Sam Snead's record.
In 2012, Woods became the first PGA Tour player to earn $100 million when he finished third at the Deutsche Bank Championship, taking home more than $500,000.
Woods holds the trophy for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013, where he clinched his 75th PGA Tour title.
In March 2013, Woods and Lindsey Vonn announced
they were dating on Facebook. In January that year, the champion skier had finalized her divorce from Thomas Vonn, after initializing proceedings in 2011. Woods split up with his wife, Elin Nordegren, in 2010 after admitting a series of infidelities. In May 2015, Woods and Vonn announced their breakup, with the golfer claiming he "hadn't slept" in the days following.
Woods winces in pain after striking a tree root with his club after a shot from the rough in the final round of the 2015 Masters Tournament in April. He tied for 17th place.
Woods' best result of an injury-hit 2015 was a tie for 10th at August's Wyndham Championship -- his last appearance this season before having back surgery.
In July 2015, Woods missed the cut at the British Open for just the second time in his illustrious career.
Woods throws his club in disgust following a shot from the rough during the first round of the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in June, when he missed the halfway cut after rounds of 80 and 76.