Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf is still uncertain six weeks after the 15-time major champion underwent his seventh back surgery.
Speaking at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, The Bahamas — his first media appearance since the procedure — Woods addressed his rehabilitation process for his lumbar disc replacement surgery. He opened the news conference by joking that he’d play “probably 25 events on both tours” before explaining that his recovery is ongoing.
“It’s not as fast as I’d like it to be,” Woods said.
Woods announced that he will miss the first half of the TGL season, which starts Dec. 28. The league co-founder has been cleared by doctors to chip and putt and to begin weightlifting in the gym.
Woods is hopeful of returning to the simulator series for its second half. He’ll appear in person at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for all of the dates during which his Jupiter Links team is set to compete.
Woods will also miss the PNC Championship, the PGA Tour’s parent-child tournament, which he has played in with his son Charlie every year since 2020.
Woods was reluctant to commit to future playing opportunities, including on the Champions Tour. The five-time Masters champion turns 50 on Dec. 30 and becomes eligible to compete on the senior tour, where golf carts are permitted in many events.
There has been significant speculation that Woods will begin adding Champions Tour events to his limited playing schedule once he returns from injury, but he did not say if or when he would make his debut.
“I really haven’t gone in-depth of what the schedule looks like on the Champions Tour except for a few tournaments,” he said. “I need time to figure this out with my back and my body.”
Woods made his last official start in 2024 at the Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he missed the cut. The following year, in March 2025, Woods ruptured his left Achilles tendon while training for a comeback to competition. Since February 2021, Woods has been recovering from injuries and complications stemming from his single-vehicle car crash in Los Angeles.
“I’d like to come back to just playing golf again. I haven’t played golf in a long time,” he said. “It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course … I’ve had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months, and most of this year, and quite frankly, the end of last year.”
Woods’ mother, Kultida Woods, died in February 2025.
While unable to play in tournaments, Woods has been active behind the scenes on the PGA Tour, helping to share the future competitive structure of the league that hosted his rise to a historic tenure as world No. 1. Woods is the chairman of the Future Competitions Committee and is working alongside new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp to shape the ideal organization for a yearly PGA Tour schedule.
The committee is willing to dramatically alter a schedule that has remained relatively stagnant for years, including dropping some tournaments and starting the season after the Super Bowl, rather than in the first week of January. The hope is that it will improve the product for fans and players.
“The scarcity thing is something that I know scares a lot of people, but I think that if you have scarcity at a certain level, it will be better because it will drive more eyes,” Woods said.
Woods also responded to the possibility of becoming the U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2027.
“No one’s asked me about it,” Woods said.
Woods explained that he watched the entire competition at Bethpage Black as the Americans lost to the Europeans on home soil. He spoke to players and captains throughout the event.
