Tiger Woods has no timeline for returning to competitive play after undergoing another surgery, but Kevin Kisner spoke to him and discussed when the legend could make a return
16:31 ET, 05 Dec 2025Updated 16:31 ET, 05 Dec 2025
Tiger Woods return unknown but hopeful as friend gives insight(Image: Getty Images)
Tiger Woods’ return to golf is one of the sport’s most anticipated and hopeful events entering 2026, and PGA Tour star Kevin Kisner has insight on when it could happen.
Woods, who had his seventh back surgery in October, will be eligible to play PGA Tour Champions events when he turns 50 in late December. He was also just cleared to chip and putt, and will make an appearance at his team’s TGL home opener in January, but not playing.
Speaking on Trey Wingo’s podcast, Kisner — who is Woods’ TGL teammate with Jupiter Links GC — said Woods could make his first appearance when the winter season is over.
“Well, we’re hoping that he’ll come back and play the last few TGL matches with us later this spring, early March or so,” Kisner said.
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“It depends how the rehab goes. I talked to Tiger a good bit and he’s starting to feel a bit better, you’ve seen him moving around at Albany this week.”
Woods is in attendance for the Hero World Challenge as he hosts his PGA Tour event that 20 of the world’s best participate in.
“Hopefully he’s just pain-free, that’s the biggest key,” Kisner said. “Even if he had to come back and play a few Champions Tour events just to get his feet wet and ride in a cart, that would be cool, right? That would be a huge boost to that tour.
Kevin Kisner gave insight on when Tiger Woods could return to competitive play
“We all want to see him play and we’ll welcome him with open arms, but we want him to be healthy when he does it.”
Some fans have questioned whether it’s worth the pain and hassle for Woods to return as the all-time wishes he was recovering quicker.
“It’s not as fast as I’d like it to be. It was a good thing to do, something I needed to happen, it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process,” Woods said before the Hero World Challenge.
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“Unfortunately I’ve been through this rehab process before and it’s step-by-step. Once I get a feel for the recovery process, I can decide where and when to play.
“Let me get back to playing again, let me do that and I’ll figure out the schedule. I just got cleared last week to chip and putt. It’s been six weeks last Friday [since the operation] and it’s been slow.
“You can’t really do much with a disc replacement, now we have the OK to start cranking it up in the gym and start strengthening.”
