Tiger Woods is reportedly back on the range, while Rory McIlroy will take a break from competition to focus on a legal dispute.
According to USA Today, Woods is now hitting golf balls again more than two months after his last competition in August and is one pace to recover in time for the 2014 Hero World Challenge in December.
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, said in an interview that the golf superstar is doing good in his recovery from a back injury, but is still following advice from his doctors in training.
"The doctors said he could hit golf balls again, and he's listening to his doctors and to his body," Steinberg said. "He will keep listening to his doctors and body."
Woods has not played since missing the cut at the 2014 PGA Championship in August and his exit during the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The 38-year-old, who underwent back surgery earlier this year, also withdrew his name from consideration during the selection process for the US Ryder Cup team, announcing that he would take a break to let his back heal properly.
Previous reports indicated that Woods should have not forced himself to play at the PGA Championship, but the former world No. 1 reiterated that he has no regret about his decision to return to action early.
"I felt good enough to do it, and the only unfortunate part is I couldn't maintain the conditioning," Woods said. "So as the tournament would wear on, I would get more and more fatigued and tired, and I wasn't as explosive, I wasn't as strong. Eventually the game started to deteriorate a little bit because physically I wasn't in good enough shape to maintain it."
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy announced that he will take a break to focus on his legal dispute against Horizon Sports Management, which he accused of misleading him about "maximizing their own share of any commission."
"I'm going to need time away from tournament golf to prepare for the trial over my legal dispute with Horizon Sports Management," McIlroy said on Monday via ESPN. "The court-mediated process failed over the weekend to resolve the issue."
