It’s been so long since we’ve seen Tiger Woods on the course with a club in his hand that most of us have forgotten what he’s currently struggling with.
To continue his long-running battle with his body and desperate bad luck, the 49-year-old had surgery on his ruptured Achilles in March after suffering the injury while training at home.
It was hoped that, after a handful of TGL starts and losing out to the Langers at the PNC Championship in December, he would be back for the early part of the 2025 season, but things have not played out as he would have hoped.
He was entered for the Genesis in February, and a return to Torrey Pines, where he had won eight times, but he then pulled out as he was still processing the death of his mother, Kultida.
He then featured in the one-day Seminole Pro-Member, teaming up with former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, but then came the Achilles setback.
“As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” said Woods.
“Dr Charlton Stucken of the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, performed a minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon.”
The procedure was thought to have gone smoothly, but there has been no update on any playing comeback. Woods has not participated in a PGA Tour event since last year’s Open at Royal Troon in July, where he would miss his third straight cut in a 2024 major, having made the weekend at Augusta.
In September, he had his sixth back procedure in 10 years.
His good friend Rory McIlroy, speaking after the Achilles news, believes that it might be 2026 before we next see him, though he can ride in a buggy for the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, so that would be a likely venue in December.
McIlroy said: “It sucks, he doesn’t have much luck when it comes to injuries and his body. Achilles surgeries obviously aren’t fun, we obviously won’t see him play golf this year, and hopefully, we see him maybe play in 2026. I don’t know what’s in his head. But, judging by prior behaviour, he’ll definitely try.”
The next big question is whether Woods will play on the PGA Tour Champions. He will turn 50 on December 30, and he will then be eligible to ride in a buggy, which won’t appeal to his traditional nature but will to his competitive one.
Tiger Woods’ injury timeline in full:
2007: Ruptured ACL
2008: Arthroscopic knee surgery
2008-09: Torn right Achilles tendon
2010: Neck injury
2011: Left MCL sprain, strained left Achilles tendon (April)
2011: Knee, Achilles problems (May)
2012: Injury to left Achilles tendon (March)
2014: Back issues (March)
2014: Back spasms (March)
2014: Back surgery (April)
2015: Back surgery (surgery)
2015: Follow-up back procedure (October)
2017: Back spasms (February)
2017: Back surgery (April)
2019: Left knee surgery (August)
2021: Another back procedure (December)
2021: Injuries from a car crash (February)
2023: Ankle surgery (April)
2024: Back surgery (September)
2025: Achilles tendon injury (March)
