Woods unsure when he will return

NEW YORK (Ticker) - Tiger Woods said Friday he still is unsure when he will make his comeback from knee surgery.

Woods underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 15, two days after the Masters where he finished runner-up to Trevor Immelman in the first major of the year. The procedure was done to clean out cartilage in the joint.

“I really don’t have a timetable for returning to competition,” Woods said in his monthly newsletter. “The doctors have said I should be able to play again in four to six weeks, but nothing is certain. I’m just going to do what they tell me to do.”

Woods has dispensed with crutches, however, is wearing a knee brace and said he hoped to start his rehabilitation soon.

“Needless to say, I’m a little stir crazy since my knee surgery on April 15,” he said. “Although I’ve been through this before and understand the need for patience, I don’t enjoy sitting around.”

Woods refused to blame the knee problem on his failure to win the Masters, thus falling at the first hurdle in his bid to achieve golf’s Grand Slam by winning all four majors in one calendar year.

“I’ve definitely been playing in pain, but that’s not why I didn’t win at Augusta,” he said. “I just never got comfortable with my putting stroke. As I said after the tournament, I was dragging the putter coming through which meant I couldn’t start the ball on line. That’s all it takes on those greens. Obviously, it was frustrating because I hit the ball well enough to win. It was just one of those things.”

Woods also paid tribute to the man who beat him at Augusta National.

“I called Trevor Immelman a couple days later to congratulate him,” Woods said. “He was on the TV circuit, so I didn’t actually talk to him, but I left a voice message. Nobody has ever doubted his ability. He has a beautiful golf swing and it was only a matter of time before he put it all together at a major championship.”