TIGER WOODS yesterday thanked his former swing coach Hank Haney for their six-year working relationship but gave no hint as to a possible successor.

The previous day, Haney said in a statement he had resigned from the position after helping the American world number one win 31 PGA Tour events and six major championships.

“Hank Haney and I have agreed that he will no longer be my coach,” Woods (34) said in a statement on his official website (http://web.tigerwoods.com). “I would like to thank him for all he has done for me the past six years.

“Hank is an outstanding teacher and has been a great help to me, but equally importantly he is a friend. That will not change.”

The split between the two came the same day Woods told a news conference he was not sure when he would return to the game after a painful neck injury forced him to quit the Players Championship in Florida during last Sunday’s final round.

The 14-times major winner said he would undergo tests this week to determine the full extent of the problem. Haney, who succeeded Butch Harmon as Woods’s swing coach, described his liaison with the game’s leading player as “a dream come true”. He added: “I believe at this time that it is in both of our best interests for me to step aside as Tiger’s coach. I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can.”