Tiger Woods not looking for a new coach, laughs off Rory McIlroy’s comments

All Tiger Woods could do was laugh on Monday when talking about Rory McIlroy’s much-discussed comments that his elder Nike stablemate and Phil Mickelson were nearing the ends of their illustrious careers.

Woods, who revealed during a press conference to promote December’s newly named and sponsored Hero World Challenge that he had yet to swing a club or hire a new swing coach, took the opportunity to take a good-natured swipe at Mickelson as well.

“I thought it was funny,” Woods, chuckling, said of McIlroy’s remark that each member of golf’s marquee twosome was playing the “last few holes” of his career. “Phil [44 years old to Tiger’s 38] has less holes to play than I do ... It’s reality; we’re all older.”

Speaking of which, the aging superstar said he was “right on the timeline” for his next comeback at his tournament in early December even though he had yet to swing a club since he missed the cut at the PGA Championship last month.

“Golf-wise, nothing,” Woods, who’s still seeking his elusive fastball, said about what he has been up to since he limped off the course at Valhalla. “I’ve just been shadow-swinging without a club. I’ve been busting my butt in the gym pretty hard. I got my strength back, which is nice. Now the next goal is to get my explosiveness, my ‘fast twitch’ going, and that’s the next phase of my training.”

Woods said he expected to begin swinging late this month or early next, which would afford him two months to get ready for his limited-field competition at Isleworth. Since he had yet to take that next step, Tiger, who fired Sean Foley last month after a four-year stint with the Canadian swing guru, said he was in “no hurry” to enlist a new instructor.

“As of right now, no, I’m not” looking for someone to record his motions on the range, Woods said. “Right now I’m just trying to get physically better, stronger, faster, more explosive ... I’m in no hurry to look for one as of right now. I’m just focused on what I’m doing.”

The best news that Tiger the father had to impart was that, unlike when he was in the throes of his back injury, he could play soccer and other games with his two children.

“It’s fun to go out there and be able to play soccer with my kids and run around and have fun with them,” he said. “That part I was missing a lot [late] last year ... I just couldn’t do it. You never want to have your kids think you can’t do things with them because you physically can’t.

“That was a tough time for me emotionally,” Woods conceded, “but now I’m able to do anything I want with them.”

Assuming all goes as planned, and barring setbacks, Woods foresees “a very full schedule next year.”