Tiger Woods 'making continual progress' in injury rehabilitation

Former world number one Tiger Woods is "making continual progress" from the back injury that has sidelined him from the past two Major tournaments.

The 38-year-old has not played since March after undergoing surgery to address nerve damage, so missed The Masters in April and last week's US Open.

However, a return in time for the Open Championship from July 17 to 20 at Hoylake, where he won in 2006, appears to be a possibility after the Golf Channel reported that he was stepping up his recovery and even taking full swings with a driver on the range.

Woods's agent Mark Steinberg did not confirm these rumours, but did speak positively on the 14-time Major winner's health when he told reporters: "Tiger is making continual progress. He feels better each day and [is able to] extend his swing as he moves forward."

United States Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson has already guaranteed Woods a wildcard pick for Gleneagles in September, should he be fit but having failed to attain enough points to qualify automatically.