Tiger Woods has claimed that he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a back injury as he prepares to make a return to the PGA Tour this week.

The 38-year-old will tee off in the Quicken Loans National at Congressional after three months out of action, and he believes that he is in the best condition he has been for a long time.

"I'm actually probably ahead of schedule where everyone thought I would be at," Woods told reporters in Maryland. "It has been a very, very long time, probably a good two years since I've felt this way.

"We all thought the British Open would be my first event back but I healed fast and I'm going to get stronger as time goes on.

"This has been quite a tedious little process but one where I got to a point where I can play competitive golf again and it's pretty exciting."

Woods, who has not won a competition since last August, has fallen to fifth in the world rankings during his recovery period.