Tiger takes Rory's comment in stride

— -- WINDERMERE, Fla. -- On his way to winning a third straight major championship in 2000, Tiger Woods had the opportunity to play the first two rounds of the PGA Championship with Jack Nicklaus, two legends competing on the same field unlike any other sport.

It would be Nicklaus' last occasion playing the major he won five times, and at age 60, he nearly holed an approach shot on his final hole to make the cut. Two days later, Woods would make history at age 24, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in a year.

But he never forgot those days at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

"As long as you're still part of that conversation, you cross generations in this game of golf," Woods said. "I remember Jack telling me at that PGA that he got a chance to play with Gene Sarazen in his last PGA. It's not too often you get a chance to play with people who are legends of the game, obviously well past their prime, but they're still playing in the same event.

"I think that's what makes golf so special, and that's also what makes it so enjoyable to play, is that you can play for such a long period of time and still be successful at it."

Woods' story Monday at Isleworth Country Club was partly in response to a question touching on  Rory McIlroy, who last week made a few headlines when he was asked about Woods and Phil Mickelson not being at the Tour Championship.

McIlroy acknowledged both players' strengths today, but said they were getting older and "on the last holes" of their careers. The comment by itself looks harsh, but in reality, McIlroy was simply being honest -- no ill will intended.

And Woods gets it.

"I thought it was funny," he said, laughing, at a news conference to promote the Hero World Challenge. "I mean, Phil has less holes to play than I do, though."

Never one to miss an opportunity to poke longtime rival Mickelson, Woods nonetheless noted the truth in McIlroy's words.

When Woods resumes play on the PGA Tour in 2015, it will be his 19th full season. He will be 39, and more than six years removed from his most recent major championship.

His 79th PGA Tour victory came 13 months ago, but in some ways, it seems like 13 years, given all the physical issues that Woods endured in 2014. He played just eight times, and as we have since learned, he was never quite right, going all the way back to January.

He tried to manage his back pain, ended up having surgery on March 31, returned in June, and then had another setback at the WGC-Bridgestone last month. Woods tried to play at the PGA Championship, missed the cut, then shut it down.

Since Aug. 8, he has not hit a golf ball, and when he will do so again remains unclear. A week? Two weeks? Woods suggested Monday that it's all part of a plan to get healthy, take his time and give himself two months to prepare for the Hero World Challenge, his annual fundraising event that will be played Dec. 4-7 at Isleworth, his old course.

Woods said there are no immediate plans to replace coach Sean Foley, and he's curious to see how he fares at the December tournament, using that as a gauge to set his 2015 schedule.

But he hardly sounded concerned. There is no rush, and as many have speculated, perhaps it is best to let this play out slowly, carefully. Get healthy, clear the mind, get back to the work of putting together a swing that can be competitive.

And yet he is fully aware the times change.

Some 15 years ago, it was Woods and David Duval carrying the Nike banner. Now McIlroy, who is 13 years younger than Woods, has stepped up.

"It's a different generation," Woods said. "The guys that I played against most of my career were Phil, Vijay [Singh], Ernie [Els], Goose [ Retief Goosen], Paddy [ Padraig Harrington]. Those are probably the core guys that I played with or played against for the last 15, almost 20 years now.

"This is the next crop coming up, Rory being one, probably Jordan Spieth, Rickie [Fowler]. That's the next wave of guys that are coming up. It's fun to be a part of. I've fallen pretty far in the world rankings now (he is 15th after starting the year at No. 1), but at one point we were both [No.] 1 and 2 in the world, and very similar to what it was in the late '90s and early 2000s when Duval and I were both 1 and 2, and we both represented Nike.

"I just hope it'll be me soon that's out there playing that well, but Rory right now is playing fantastically, and I'm sure he's going to continue to get better."

You get the feeling that Woods is OK with it, and that he relishes the challenge of getting his game in condition to compete. As he said, being part of the conversation is the key at this stage, and it will be fascinating to see it unfold.