Tiger weighs in on US Open controversy

Ahead of this week's Quicken Loans National at Congressional, tournament host Tiger Woods weight in on a number of issues during his Wednesday press conference, including Sunday's controversy at the US Open involving Dustin Johnson, which drew widespread criticism of the USGA and raised deeper questions for the game to consider, in addition to providing candour on when we are likely to see him back on tour and competing with the new generation of dominant players. 

The 14-time major champion said of the events at Oakmont: "It was awful because nobody knew what was going on. DJ didn't know where he stood. That determines what you're going to do. It was frustrating to watch how it was handled. I'm little feistier than Dustin, so I might have said a few more things during the round."

It's now been ten months since the 40-year-old played competitively on the PGA Tour, before back surgery last autumn led to this lengthy absence from the game, which has seen the legendary Californian miss the first two majors of 2016.

"I'm still progressing, I'm still getting stronger; I'm excited about what has transpired so far,'' Woods added about the status about his recovery.

"I've gotten stronger and it's just recovering from day to day. Has anything bad happened ... that's one of the things. I'm sore and it's about trying to recover the next day. I just need to still get in, I guess, more golf shape, try to hit more golf balls, things of that nature.

"So I'm still working on it, I'm still progressing so far, and I just wish I could be here and play and be out here and get it done. Just miss playing.''

There are no indications as to when he will return to tournament golf, with the Open Championship at Royal Troon just three weeks away. Though he didn't rule out competing at the game's oldest major in Ayrshire this July, it doesn't seem likely that we'll see him in Scotland, with the PGA Championship at Baltustrol following two weeks later. 

However, Woods has played 18-holes on consecutive days, which is a significant improvement on what he stated at his last public appearance in May, but is still falling short what is required to participate in a championship.

"It's about four, five days in a row, it's about me playing 36 holes daily, getting up to speed and playing,'' Woods said. "I'm not quite there yet. I'm trying to get there, I'm trying to get there as fast as I can, but I'm trying to do it right at the same time. As you know, I've pushed through a lot of injuries and rehabs before. Trying to do it correctly at this time.''