Pain-free Woods dismisses hat-gate" as media "noise" and aims for "a tournament a month" in 2024

Tiger Woods insists the hat-gate controversy that led to a Ryder Cup row between his former caddie and Rory McIlroy was all down to media "noise".

The 15-time Major tentatively hopes to play once a month next season but admits he's heading into the unknown as he returns to action for the first time in six months at the Hero World Challenge this week.

His fitness was a major talking point at a 30-minute press conference but he was also asked his views on the Ryder Cup row in Rome, his desire to be captain and the ongoing talks between the PGA Tour and the Saudis.

"Well, what transpired there, it was media, it was just noise," Woods said of the Ryder Cup pay-for-play controversy ahead of his first appearance since undergoing ankle surgery following his withdrawal from the Masters in April.

"Then the—obviously the fact that everyone now carries a mobile device and that was able to spread. You're on—you're not on home soil, so any time someone ... they're going to try to get in your head and that's what they tried to do.

"I totally get it. Emotions. We all want to win. You have a home side and an opposing side, you're going to get heat, and that's what happened."

As for pay-for-play issues and reports that Patrick Cantlay, whose caddie Joe LaCava suffered McIlroy's ire in Rome, wanted to be paid, Woods was clear when asked if players should be renumerated.

"That wasn't an issue," he said.

The former world number one is considered "the next logical choice" by former skipper Davis Love to captain the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in 2025.

But in a wide-ranging news conference dominated by his fitness and his role in the negotiations between the PGA TOUR and the PIF, Woods (48 next month) made it clear the captaincy is not an urgent issue for him.

"Right now, there's too much at stake with our tour to think about a Ryder Cup," said Woods, who is now a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board and heavily involved in the potential deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF, who bankroll LIV Golf.

Before heading off to walk 18 holes in the Pro-Am and with another 72 holes of competitive golf ahead of him in the 16-man invitational he hosts for his Foundation, Woods admitted he was as curious to see how he gets on as the rest of the golf world.

"My game feels rusty; I haven't played in a while," Woods said. "I had my subtalar fused. I'm excited to compete and play, and I'm just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven't done it in a while.

"I can tell you this, I don't have any of the pain that I had at Augusta or pre that in my ankle. Well, other parts are taking the brunt of the load, so I'm a little more sore in other areas, but the ankle's good. So that surgery was a success."

After caddying recently for his son Charlie, he feels fit enough to play this week and even suggested he might be able to play as often as once a month next year.

"I think the best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month," Woods said. "I think that's realistic whether that's—you would have to start with maybe at Genesis (at Riviera in February) and something in March, near the Players.

"Again, we have set up right now the biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that. Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction."

He added: "I'm curious to see what 72 holes looks like on the body and my game and then try and set a schedule going forward into next year."

Quizzed at length about the shock June 6 announcement of the potential merger between the PGA TOUR and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, he admitted it took him by surprise.

"I would say that my reaction was surprised as I'm sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened," he said. "So quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there.

"I was very surprised that the process was what it was. We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps going forward to ensure that the player involvement was not going -- we were not going to be left out of the process like we were. So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position."

He went on to say he is "pleased" with how the process has involved since then, expressed "faith" in Commissioner Jay Monahan, and admitted he understood why Rory McIlroy resigned from the board.

"I totally understand why Rory made that decision," he said. "We put a lot of effort and time into the Delaware meeting and getting everyone aligned for that.

"Going from there and the next couple years, just the involvement or the conflict within golf and then his participation at the highest level.

"He was in contention almost every tournament he played in and he was the spokesman at the same time. So that was very difficult on him personally, and I totally understand it."

Woods still believes he can win — "Absolutely," he said — but admitted he'll retire when he feels he can no longer compete.

"I love competing, I love playing," he said. "I miss being out here with the guys, I miss the camaraderie and the fraternity-like atmosphere out here and the overall banter.

"But what drives me is I love to compete. There will come a point in time, I haven't come around to it fully yet, that I won't be able to win again.

"When that day comes, I'll walk -- well, now I can walk. I won't say run away, but I'm going to walk away.”

As for the PIF talks and the chances of the LIV Golf members to return to the PGA Tour, he had hopes but few answers.

"We have multiple options, but still, we would like to have a deal done December 31st,” he said. "That's what the agreement said in the summer and all parties understand that  But there are other options out there.”

Admitting he was frustrated as a player to be blindsided by the Tour on June 6, he added: “We can't let that happen again. How do we do that, is having six player directors so we control the board and we control what we're going to do.

"We're not going to have what transpired in a few months without our involvement again.”

Refusing to rule out a way back for the LIV players, he added: "As far as a pathway, we're still working on that. That's part of the deal we're working through is trying to find a path, whatever that looks like.

"There's so many different scenarios. That's why I said there's a lot of sleepless hours trying to figure that out, a lot of participation from the players and what does that look like.”