Tiger Woods would not consider an assistant's role on the US Ryder Cup team for September's showdown with Europe and has no idea when in 2009 he will be ready to return to competitive golf.
World number one Woods, in a web posting update Tuesday, also revealed details about his injury and said stress fractures in his legs that hampered him through his US Open triumph last month are healing well following surgery.
"If I hadn't played in the US Open, they would be almost fully healed, so the surgery was a blessing in disguise," he wrote. "By the time I come back they should be fine."
Woods clinched a spot on the US Ryder Cup team with his victory at Torrey Pines but will not be healthy enough to take advantage and said he would not serve as an aide to US captain Paul Azinger for two reasons.
"I'm not on the team," Woods wrote. "The event should be about the competitors and the competition. The guys will have plenty on their minds and I wish them the best. I'll be cheering loudly."v
Woods might be ready to make a comeback next January when the PGA returns to Torrey Pines for a regular tour stop. But even the 14-time major champion, now four off Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 majors, has no idea for certain.
"Looking ahead to 2009, I have no idea when I'll return to competition. I haven't set a date, because I just don't know when I'll be ready," Woods wrote. "That's the frustrating part. I don't know what to look forward to."
His days have been spent watching sports on television.
"I also read and play video games, anything to get me through the day," Woods wrote. "I'm a pretty active person and don't like sitting around. Unfortunately I don't have much choice right now.
"Initially, it wasn't much fun. But I'm on the good side now and starting to get more sleep.
"The thing I'll miss most about sitting out the rest of the season is not being in the fight. I was really looking forward to playing in the British Open at Royal Birkdale, where I finished third in 1998, and trying to defend my title in the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills."
Woods called the US Open triumph his greatest ever as it come only after an 18-hole playoff and sudden death extra hole victory over Rocco Mediate, a 91-hole ordeal that he limped his way through.
"I'd have to say it was the biggest win of my pro career. Some people have mentioned the 1997 Masters, but for me as a player, the US Open was more difficult. I still don't know how I did it."
Woods was coming off left knee surgery just days after he finished second to South Africa's Trevor Immelman at the Masters.
"Why did I do it? Am I that stubborn? The three reasons I played were: It was Torrey Pines, a place where I grew up playing and have had a lot of success, I was comfortable on the course and knew the greens and I knew it was going to be my last event of the year," Woods wrote.
"Would I do it again? Probably. I knew I could win. It was just a matter of dealing with the pain and executing. The day after the tournament, my knee was done. I couldn't stop limping. It's amazing what adrenaline does to a system."
Woods knew that his anterior cruciate ligament was in bad shape after the knee surgery but could not know that worse was on the way.
"I knew my ACL was basically shot. I was just trying to get through the season, then planned to have reconstructive surgery," he wrote. "Unfortunately I developed two stress fractures during my rehabilitation and that set me back.
"I wanted to play in the Memorial Tournament but couldn't walk. I figured if I took it easy for a couple weeks, I would be able to play in the US Open.
"Once the pain subsided, I could hit four or five balls at a time and then I would have to sit down in the cart because the stress fractures hurt so much. Then I would hit a few more balls and go home for the day.
"That's how I got ready for the US Open.
"When I walked, my knee throbbed, but it wasn't a shooting pain. Most of the pain came when I swung the club. Certain shots I couldn't lean forward - that was the frustrating part. I didn't really have a go-to shot because I wasn't sure where the pain was coming from.
"Honestly, I never thought about quitting. I was going to make it. I might have been slow, but I wasn't going to stop playing.
