Tiger Woods, who has won the Masters Tournament five times, will not be playing this year. While all previous champions are invited to compete in the tournament as long as they choose to, Woods will not be teeing up this year.
In early March, Woods, 49, underwent surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. “I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support,” he posted on social media. His reason for missing the Masters, then, is clear: He’s focused on recovering from his injury. He hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 Open Championship last July.
Woods, who first won the Masters back in 1997, has only missed the tournament four times since (2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021). Last year, he made the cut for his 24th consecutive time playing in the tournament, setting a new record. “It’s consistency, it’s longevity, and it’s an understanding of how to play this golf course,” Woods said about the record. “Now, you still have to go out and execute it, but there’s a lot of knowledge that goes into understanding how to play [Augusta National].”
He added, “That’s the neat thing about this. I can still go through the mental Rolodex and bring out a few putts from the ’90s that still move generally in that direction and the effect that Rae’s Creek has on certain shots and putts. And it means a lot.”
His presence will be missed by the other players on tour. “It sucks,” Rory McIlroy said at The Players Championship about Woods’s injury. “He doesn’t have much luck when it comes to injuries and his body. Hoping he’s in good spirits and hoping he’s OK. We obviously won’t see him play golf this year, and hopefully we see him maybe play in 2026.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
