Tiger Woods’ latest return to golf after a sidelining injury saw him battle through an illness that caused him to vomit on the course and end up tied for last place.

Tiger Woods Vomits

Woods was admittedly under the weather when he got to work on the 72 holes of the Hero World Challenge in Isleworth Golf and Country Club. While tackling the course, the feverish athlete vomited multiple times in between strokes.

“It wasn’t easy. I fought hard. It’s all I had,” Woods said after the tournament. “I thought I could hang in there,” he said. “I like to compete. If I can go, I’ll go. I wasn’t in pain, I was just under the weather.”

Fighting through the illness in the 18-man tournament, Woods wound up at the bottom, tied in 17th place. Despite the disappointing finish, Woods found reason to be optimistic about his game going forward. Long hampered by an aggravated back, Woods claimed that he was able to strike the ball powerfully without experiencing any pain. “I hadn’t played in four months,” Woods said. “To come out here and not play in any kind of pain is great progress, and to be able to hit the ball as hard as I want really without flinching.”

Woods did, however, admit his short game was “awful.”

It’s expected that Woods, who was tight-lipped on his future plans, will likely pick up his 2015 season in February.