A close friend of Tiger Woods has pulled back the curtain on the legendary golfer’s retirement plans after acknowledging that ‘he’s not in denial’ following another surgery
15:11 ET, 16 Oct 2025Updated 15:11 ET, 16 Oct 2025
Tiger Woods’ close friend revealed that the 49-year-old will try and make one more comeback before retiring(Image: Getty Images)
A member of Tiger Woods’ inner circle shed light on the golfing legend’s plans before retirement after conceding that “he’s not in denial.”
Last Friday, Woods announced that he underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery on his spine. He was already sidelined for the entire 2025 season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles he suffered while training back in March.
Though Woods has achieved no shortage of success on the PGA Tour, fans urged him to walk away from the sport following his another major injury. According to one of Woods’ close friends, the 49-year-old is well aware that his decorated career is coming to a close sooner rather than later. “He’s not stupid,” the insider told the Daily Mail.
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“He knows things are winding down, and he’s coming to terms with it. He’s turning 50 this year.”
Rather than hang up the clubs now, however, Woods is allegedly eyeing one more comeback that’d allow him to depart golf on his own terms.
“He won’t retire but he’s slowing down,” the source explained. “He wants to do at least one more major and to perform well in it. He wants to end the career with a bang, not a whimper. But right now, we’ll have to see.”
As Woods knows, the road to recovery will not be an easy one. His latest procedure on his L4-L5 vertebrae marked his seventh back surgery and third time going under the knife in the last two years.
“He’s not in denial, but he wants to push himself until there’s nothing more he can do,” Woods’ friend said. “It depends on his recovery if he’s there yet or not. Seems pretty likely that he is.”
Taking to social media last week, Woods asserted that the procedure — which was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi and his team at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York — was the best decision for his health.
Tiger Woods underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in his spine last week(Image: Getty Images)
“After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with Doctors and Surgeons to have tests taken,” Woods said in an official statement. “The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal.
“I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.”
Though Woods appears focused on returning to the greens and fairways at some point, golf journalist Dan Rapaport expressed doubt that he’d be able to do so.
“Let’s zoom out a little bit and look at what Tiger Woods has done, or more accurately, what he hasn’t done since the accident,” Rapaport said while addressing Woods’ serious car accident back in 2021, during which he sustained a shattered right leg and ankle before being pulled from the wreckage using the jaws of life.
“He missed the cut in the last three majors in 2024. He has 10 starts total since the accident. His best finish in those starts is a tied for 45th at the Genesis Invitational in 2023.
“This feels like the end. And I know what you’re thinking, it’s been the end. I’m just telling you how I feel. This one hit me at the end. I feel like his body is breaking down.”
