Tiger Woods will not play at the Masters (Image: Megan Briggs/TGL, TGL Golf via Getty Images)
The world of golf is abuzz with excitement as the Masters is set to take place next week at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The first major of the 2025 season, which runs from April 10 to 13, will feature nearly 100 talented golfers competing for the top spot.
However, some high-profile players are struggling with injuries that may hinder their performance, while others have been forced to withdraw completely. The presence of injured golfers will undoubtedly add a layer of complexity to the tournament, potentially allowing newer and lesser-known players to seize the spotlight. Unfortunately, fans may meanwhile witness subpar performances from usually skilled players due to discomfort. Let’s take a look at some of the players nursing injuries ahead of the tournament.
Tiger Woods
On Tuesday, 49-year-old Tiger Woods provided an update on his recovery from an Achilles rupture. He shared his excitement and relief on social media: “I can’t believe I am saying this, but a few weeks after rupturing my left Achilles, the sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber plus the explosive lifts my doctors and trainers have me ready to play the Masters next week!” reports the Mirror US.
However, the post, which landed on April 1, ultimately turned out to be an April Fools joke by Woods, who later confirmed on X: “P.S. April Fools, my Achilles is still a mess.” The 15-time major champion has not competed on the PGA Tour since July last year when he missed the cut at The Open.
He underwent micro-decompression surgery on his spine in September to relieve nerve impingement in his lower back. The golf legend looked set to make a comeback at The Genesis Invitational in February, but he withdrew after his mother’s passing. Last month, Woods then announced he had undergone surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, which he sustained while training for the Masters, adding to his long list of injuries. As a result, Woods will not compete in the 2025 Masters.
Tiger Woods will not play in the Masters this year (Image: Getty Images)Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy, the four-time major winner, has had a great 2025 so far, winning the ATandT Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and beating JJ Spaun in a tense play-off at the Players Championship last month. However, the current World No. 2 may head to the Masters with an elbow injury that could hamper his performance.
McIlroy told The Golf Channel: “My right elbow has been bothering me a little bit, so I’ll maybe just get some treatment on that and make sure that is OK going into Augusta. I’ve got my coach, Michael Bannon, coming in [on Monday]; we’ll do some work and make sure everything is in good shape for a week’s time.”
The Northern Irishman is gearing up for the challenge at Augusta with high hopes of ending his major drought – it’s been 11 years since his last triumph at the 2014 PGA Championship. McIlroy’s current cabinet boasts two PGA Championships, a US Open and an Open Championship – with the green jacket of the Masters coming as the only major accolade he is still searching for.
Rory McIlroy has had issues with his elbow (Image: Getty Images)Bernhard Langer
PGA Tour Champions veteran Bernhard Langer is also eyeing next week’s Masters at Augusta without delusions of grandeur. Langer acknowledges his aim isn’t necessarily to snag his third title at the fabled green but confessed that an Achilles injury may impair his performance at the historic links.
The German legend, who is 67, was anticipated to bid Augusta adieu last year but an Achilles setback in February dashed those plans. In an inspiring display of determination, Bernhard has declared his intention to possibly compete in this year’s event for what could be the final time, despite currently struggling with mobility.
He said: “To get back to where I was and I always thought I would come back, it was just a matter of when and how. So it was a long and tough process. It still is. I’m not 100 per cent and maybe I never will be, but walking is still difficult. So I’ve been riding a cart for the most part — well, walking 18 holes. I can walk, I’m okay walking nine holes, but then I get a little fatigued and stiff and all that kind of stuff. It’s still a process trying to get better in that department.
Bernhard Langer is heading back to Augusta (Image: Getty Images)
“I’m hoping to play great, and I have to play great to make the cut because the course is so long for me that nothing but great will do it. I’m coming in with two and three irons where the other guys are hitting nine irons on every hole, and that’s just hard to compete.”
Xander Schauffele
Golfing sensation Xander Schauffele was compelled to take a hiatus from the 2025 PGA Tour earlier this year after sustaining a rib injury that had been troubling him since December. Schauffele participated in the Sentry Tournament at the beginning of the year, but failed to return to the field until the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
Speaking on his troubles, he said: “I wasn’t sitting there like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m in so much pain’. You know what I mean? It was sort of abrupt, like if I would wake up and roll over to grab my phone, or to grab something, or sneeze if I’m like sitting on the couch in a weird position.
Xander Schauffele has missed a number of events this year (Image: Getty Images)
“Stuff like that is kind of where I would remind myself like, ‘Oh, okay, I’m not great right now.'” Despite having returned to health, the long break early in this season may risk throwing off his groove ahead of the Masters.
Scottie Scheffler
In similar fashion, Scottie Scheffler had a mishap on Christmas Day which forced him away from the PGA Tour in January – injuring his right hand while preparing ravioli. The fiasco required surgery to extract fragments of broken glass embedded in his hand after he used a wine glass to flatten his dough, only for it to break apart catastrophically.
Reflecting on the incident, Scheffler said: “It’s one of those deals where immediately after it happened I was mad at myself because I was like gosh, that’s so stupid, but you just don’t think about it when you’re in the moment. It really wasn’t like terrible, but I knew I kind of messed something up just because the way my hand wasn’t really moving much and if I did, it hurt pretty bad. So I kind of knew something was up.”
Scottie Scheffler injured his hand in December (Image: Getty Images)
Scheffler subsequently missed playing the Sentry and the American Express before making a PGA Tour comeback at Pebble Beach where he clinched a T9 finish. The 28-year-old pro golfer has yet to secure a win from the six events he’s entered this season, but eyes will be on him as he strives for triumph at the Masters, aiming for his third title from the tournament.
Jordan Spieth
For nearly two years, Jordan Spieth has been grappling with wrist problems. After surgery last summer, Spieth felt a snag after hitting a bunker shot during January’s Pebble Beach competition. He said: “I had to flick one and it jammed it pretty good, and it locked up on me for a little while.”
Jordan Spieth has had trouble with his wrist (Image: Getty Images)
He added: “My wrist kind of hurt in the first round last week and I went away from all the work that I had been doing just to kind of manipulate what I could, and then I said, you know what, I just have to get through it. So I was back to the status quo Sunday on all the stuff that I had been doing, and it paid off there.”
Even though the golf ace’s wrist has been manageable this season aside from that painful episode at Pebble Beach, mentally adjusting to tour-level play post-surgery might still pose challenges for the American.
