His much-trumpeted comeback at the Safeway Open in northern California this month was shelved on the eve of the tournament, fuelling fresh fears about his fitness.
However, Woods said he is optimistic he can return in December, insisting that the competitive fires still raged within him.
"I like beating those guys. That's why I practice all those hours ... is to be ready to take on those guys down the stretch. And do I miss it? Absolutely, 100 percent.
"And to be at my age now, at 40 years old ... I'm the first one to admit: I can't do the things I used to be able to do. Most people can't at my age, versus when they were younger. I have to find different ways to go about it."
TIGER'S ONLY REGRET
Woods spoke about his messy split from wife Elin in 2009, when his life imploded amid revelations of multiple affairs. He seemed to admit that the scandal, after which he has not won another major, may have impacted on his golf.
"I've heard that, too. I look at the fact that, yeah, I've ... I made a bunch of mistakes," he said.
Yet having referred to his infidelities as "mistakes", he gave a surprising take on his only regret: Not remaining in college for another year before becoming a megastar. Rose came back to the question three times consecutively in this exchange:
Rose: Some have said to be Tiger Woods was both a gift and a burden. How was it a burden?
Woods: Well, it's a burden in the sense that it ... the amount of obligations that I have at a tournament. The anonymity that was lost that, you know, one ... the ... you know, if you look back, the only regret I have in life is not spending another year at Stanford, and I wish I would've had one more year.
Rose: That's the only regret?
Woods: That's the only regret, I wish I had.
Rose: Of all the things that's happened to you?
Woods: All the things and that's all.
Rose: Everything?
Woods: All the things I've been through are tough, yes. They've been tough, but they've been great for me, but I wish I would've gone one more year at Stanford.
Woods explained how he had dealt with his two children after the infidelities scandal:
Rose: How do you tell your kids why mama and daddy are not together?
Woods: It's because daddy made some mistakes. Daddy made some mistakes. And I'd much rather hear ... have them hear it from me. And so ...
Rose: So, you've sat down and said, "I regret what I did and" ...
Woods: No. No. I don't. I haven't said that. I said everybody makes mistakes, and the reason why mommy's living in her house and daddy's living in his house is because daddy made mistakes, and it's OK.
