Tiger Woods hires swing consultant

Less than two weeks before he is set to return to competition, Tiger Woods announced Saturday via Twitter that Chris Como has been working with him on his swing.

Como, 36, is based near Dallas and in 2013 was named by Golf Digest as one of "the best young teachers." He has a Masters degree in biomechanics, which perhaps suggests that Woods will continue with some of the theories he engaged under Sean Foley.

After missing the cut at the PGA Championship following another back issue, Woods decided to shut it down for several months and also announced he'd be parting ways with Foley, his swing coach of four years.

Woods did not technically say that Como would serve as a swing coach, calling him a consultant.

"I was introduced to Chris this summer by Notah [Begay] and subsequently we had several good conversations about the golf swing," Woods said in a statement released by his agent, Mark Steinberg. "I've worked with him about a month since I started practicing. Chris will consult and work with me during the year."

Woods played just eight times worldwide in 2014, undergoing back surgery on March 31 to alleviate a disk issue. That caused him to miss the Masters and the U.S. Open. He returned in late June for the Quicken Loans National, where he missed the cut, finished 69th at the Open Championship, then withdrew during the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational because of a different back issue that hampered him a week later at the PGA.

He did not begin hitting balls again until last month in preparation for the Hero World Challenge, his annual tournament that raises funds for the Tiger Woods Foundation. It is Dec. 4-7 at Isleworth near Orlando, Florida. At the event's media day in September, Woods said he was "in no hurry to look for" a swing coach, leading to speculation that he might proceed on his own.

Woods has won 14 major championships and 74 PGA Tour titles with the help of three different instructors, going back to Butch Harmon, who began working with the golfer when he was 16. Harmon was on board through eight major championships and Hank Haney was his coach for six. Woods won eight events on the PGA Tour with Foley, but none were major championships.

Como also works with Aaron Baddeley, Trevor Immelman and Jamie Lovemark.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.