Tiger Woods provided an honest assessment of where he is physically after undergoing another back surgery in September.

Woods, who isn't competing in this week's Hero World Challenge, said Tuesday he's "not tournament-sharp yet" and refrained from setting any target for his participation across the 2025 season.

In November 2023, the 48-year-old expressed optimism about his ability to compete in one tournament a month in 2024. That goal wasn't too wide of the mark as he entered in five tournaments.

His performance, however, illustrated both the downside of playing a lighter schedule and the deteriorating state of Woods' game.

The 15-time major champion withdrew from the Genesis Invitational after two rounds due to an illness. He finished last in the Masters at 16 over. Then he missed the cut in the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship.

Woods looked rusty when he played and simply getting through four rounds presented a challenge.

"This year was kind of—I had to toss it away and I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be and I didn't play as much as I needed to going into the major championships and I didn't play well at them," he said Tuesday. "Hopefully next year will be better, I'll be physically stronger and better. I know the procedure helped and hopefully that I can then build upon that."

Woods' numerous back surgeries—he has had at least six—underscores something to which athletes and non-athletes can both attest. Once the back trouble starts, it never truly stops. The next flare-up could be just around the corner, and pain management becomes the overriding goal.

Woods' comments Tuesday raise concern because he's behind physically where he was around this point last year, and we saw how last season unfolded.

"I'm just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off," he said of his body. "I don't want to have any setbacks, just want to keep making progress and give myself the best chance going into next year as possible. I feel like I'm getting stronger, I'm getting more pliable, but I've got a long way to go to be able to compete against these guys."

It's too early to say Woods won't play at all in 2025. A lot can change between now and the meat of the PGA Tour calendar.

But fans should set their expectations at a realistic level.