Tiger Woods is not retiring, but not in a rush to come back either

Tiger Woods may be in the midst of yet another lengthy recovery from his fourth back surgery but the former world number one said on Wednesday he now felt better than he had in years and had no plans to retire from competitive golf.

The surgery Woods had in April has a typical recovery time of six months and, while he still has very limited mobility, the 41-year-old American was firm in his resolve that he will again compete with the world’s best golfers.

“I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again,” Woods, commenting for the first time since his surgery, said on his website (tigerwoods.com).

“Presently, I’m not looking ahead. I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals.”

Woods, second on the all-time list with 14 major titles, has played sparingly since returning to golf in December after a 16-month layoff following back surgery.

He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and withdrew from a European Tour event in Dubai after a first-round 77.