Woods will 'walk away from golf' if he can't compete at highest level

TIGER Woods, who is recovering from knee surgery and hopes to return to action at the Masters in April, has admitted he would prefer to walk away from golf rather than fall short of the standard required at the highest level. He said he "couldn't stand" not to be fully competitive.

Speaking in California, where he's the non-playing host of the Chevron World Challenge, the world No1 spoke frankly about his determination to get back to the gladiators' arena only when his body is ready to perform.

Out of the public eye since he effectively won the US Open on one leg in June, Woods was asked if a lay-off from the game had made him look any differently at retiring early.

"I could totally understand walking away from the game," he replied. "I don't want to play when I know I can't play at this level, you know, at the highest of levels. I couldn't stand it.

"Right now if you wanted me to go out there and play, I couldn't stand to go out there and not be able to fully compete against these guys and not really give them a run for their money. I couldn't handle that part of it.

"That (time off] definitely gave me a better appreciation for my future and leaving the game of golf competitively. As far as trying to make money off my buddies, I will always do that. But as far as competing at the highest of levels, yeah, I can see I have a better appreciation for when that day comes.

"When my best is not good enough, I'm not going to be out here competing. You know, I certainly understand that more so now than ever before, because if I had to play this week, my game is not ready for public consumption. I couldn't display it right now. I wouldn't want to. I wouldn't want you guys to see me out there playing that poorly. I'm just not ready yet."

Provided this proud athlete makes a full recovery from the reconstructive surgery on his left knee, Woods, 33 on 30 December, won't turn his back on tournament golf until he's surpassed Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors. The extraordinary triumph at Torrey Pines was Tiger's 14th success in the game's most prestigious events.

Woods' intention in the spring is to play before Augusta, but desire and reality may not coincide. He described the uncertainty of the recuperation process as "frustrating". "Everyone heals at different rates," he said. "I couldn't tell you and my surgeon can't tell you, trainers can't tell you."

Woods endured a great deal of pain for months in the aftermath of surgery and he still has to be wary of the knee swelling. However, stability is improving and he's started to hit a few shots as well as chipping and putting.

Given the emphasis he places in his own career on major championship golf, perhaps it should come as no surprise to learn that Woods voted for Padraig Harrington as the PGA Tour's player of the year.

The first European ever to be honoured by his peers in America, Harrington's victories in the Open and the US PGA impressed the world No1. "Once he won one major, and the way he did it, he was going to win it again," said Tiger. "It just gave him that kind of confidence, and obviously he won two in a row. It was nice to see Paddy play as well as he has. It was just a matter of time.

"The confidence you get from winning one, and then two just proves to you that one wasn't a fluke. And it gives you all that confidence in the world. And look how he did it – he shot 32 on the back nine on both of them. He got it done the right way. He went out and earned it. That gives you a lot to confidence."

Woods was also complimentary about the greater dependability shown by Sergio Garcia, now ranked world No2. "Sergio has become more consistent," he said. "He's playing better. He's playing all around the world and playing well, so it goes to show you that he's made improvements."

During the press conference at Thousand Oaks in California, Woods was only asked one fairly apologetic question about his errant caddie, Steve Williams, who came under fire this week for calling Phil Mickelson a "p***k". There was no suggestion that Williams would be fired for this gaffe or make a public apology.

"Yeah, what ended up happening is I communicated with Phil, and we have discussed it," said Woods.

"I talked to Stevie about it, and he feels bad about what happened. It's something that none of us really wanted to have happen, but it's over and done with and we put it to bed."