Tiger Woods warns competitive return 'long way off' after pro-am outing

Tiger Woods warned a competitive return to golf remains a "long way off" after the 15-time major champion made his comeback alongside son Charlie at Friday's PNC Championship pro-am.

Woods is on the comeback trail after a single-car crash in February left him with open fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg.

The American superstar, who previously revealed he had feared the limb would have to be amputated, has not played competitively since the accident.

Woods, though, was back on the course on Friday with his 12-year-old son at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, where the 45-year-old took part in the pro-am before Saturday's PNC Championship opening round.

However, Woods insisted a full-time return to the PGA Tour is far from imminent as he stays patient.

"It was an awesome day," Woods said. "It was just awesome to be back out here playing and being out there with my son, and we just had an absolute blast."

"[But] It's going to be a while [a competitive comeback]. I couldn't walk this golf course even right now and it's flat. I don't have the endurance.

"My leg is not quite right yet and it's going to take time. I'm a long way from playing tournament golf.

"This is hit, hop in a cart and move about my business. Being able to play tournament golf and being able to recover, practice and train and hit balls after a round and do all of the things that I need to be at a high level? I'm a long way away from that."

Woods added: "I'm just starting to get back into trying to play again. So I don't quite have the endurance that I would like to have. I've still got the hands, I've still the feel.

"Unfortunately sometimes the feel doesn't really match up with the speed or the shot that I'm seeing, so that's one of the things that Joe [LaCava, Woods' caddie] and I were talking about.

"The ball is not quite flying as far as I'd like or I'm used to and so we have to talk about some of the numbers and some of the shots and making some of those small adjustments."

Woods, meanwhile, strongly dismissed the prospect of using a buggy in full-time competition – the veteran would require a medical exemption.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Not for a PGA Tour event, no. That's just not who I am. That's not how I've always been, and if I can't play at that level, I can't play at that level. But this is a different event. This is a fun event."