Tiger Woods could return to competitive golf as soon as spring 2025, with PGA Tour star Kevin Kisner sharing new details about the golf legend’s recovery and potential timeline following his recent back surgery
Tiger Woods return unknown but hopeful as friend gives insight(Image: Getty Images)
The golf world is buzzing with anticipation for Tiger Woods’ comeback in 2026, and PGA Tour star Kevin Kisner has some inside information on when fans might see the legend back in action.
Woods, who underwent his seventh back operation in October, will become eligible to compete in PGA Tour Champions tournaments when he celebrates his 50th birthday in late December. He’s recently been given the green light to chip and putt, and while he’ll be present at his team’s TGL home opener in January, he won’t be playing.
During an appearance on Trey Wingo’s podcast, Kisner – Woods’ TGL teammate with Jupiter Links GC – suggested Woods might make his debut once winter wraps up. “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 revealed.
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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.”, reports the Mirror US.
Woods is currently at the Hero World Challenge, hosting his PGA Tour tournament featuring 20 of the planet’s top golfers.
“Hopefully he’s just pain-free, that’s the biggest key,” Kisner explained. “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.
Tiger Woods return is unknown but hopeful as his friend and fellow PGA Tour star gives insight
“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 are wondering if the struggle and inconvenience of Woods’ comeback is worth it, as the golf legend wishes his recovery was progressing faster.
“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 shared before the Hero World Challenge.
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Woods speaks about his rehab
“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.”
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