Ready to feel old? Tiger Woods turns 50

If you feel a bit older this year, remember that October will mark the 30th anniversary of Tiger Woods’ rookie victory on the PGA Tour at Walt Disney World’s Magnolia Golf Course. As the greatest golfer of our era just celebrated his 50th birthday on Dec. 30, fans are eager to know whether or when he will compete again, given his ongoing recovery from his latest of 20 or more surgeries.

In professional golf, turning 50 marks a new chapter, as players join the PGA Tour Champions, originally branded as the “Senior PGA Tour.” Most events are just three rounds.

“He’s not going to show up and play unless he feels like he’s healthy enough and ready to go,” 17-time PGA Tour winner Jim Furyk told me last month while competing in the PNC Championship in Orlando. “If and when he does show up, he’s going to be extremely competitive, as always. It’s just about longevity, the walking; he looks a lot better in recent years — earlier in the week — than later in the week.”

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington says, like everyone else, Woods will have to get used to 54-hole tournaments.

“You’ve got to get under par as quickly as you can. If you’re not three under par after nine holes on day one, you’re really going to feel it,” said the three-time major winner.

Both Furyk and Harrington reminded me that the game’s most dominant player doesn’t really need anyone’s advice. It’s not as if the 15-time major champion has more to prove, or does he?

“I think deep down inside, he loves to set records. And, you know, being a guy who’s won a U.S. Junior, a U.S. Amateur, a U.S. Open, and nobody’s ever won all three plus a U.S. Senior Open championship. So, I’d imagine he’s aiming for that too,” said longtime friend, former Isleworth neighbor and two-time major winner Mark O’Meara

One clear theme emerging from my recent one-on-one conversations with these and other legends is the importance of health for success.

After turning 50, Germany’s Bernhard Langer set a new standard as the most successful player in the 45-year history of the PGA Tour Champions. He’s won 12 Senior majors to complement his two green jackets from Augusta National.

Now 68, Langer did not win in 2025, ending his Tiger-like streak of at least one victory every year since his 2007 debut. He did finish tied for second in one event this past season, no doubt a testament to his fitness routine and the fact that he’s never jumped out of a perfectly functioning airplane or sustained severe injuries in a horrific car accident like Woods.

“Tiger may not have the capability only because of his injuries and everything he’s going through. You need to be in very good health to play the game and succeed. It’s very tough even when you’re healthy, and it’s no fun playing with pain,” Langer said. “Tiger is a very fit person. He trains and works out maybe more than anyone else. He’s got a very strong body, but he’s also had many surgeries. So, I don’t know how that affects him. We all hope he will recover fully, and hopefully he’ll play some on our tour.”

Woods is widely recognized for drawing huge crowds and dramatically increasing viewership ratings, bringing unmatched excitement throughout a career that made him one of only six players to achieve a career Grand Slam. His 82 PGA Tour wins also include a record eight at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Maybe we’re all underestimating whether he’s ready for the next phase of his golf career. Perhaps we should wonder if the PGA Tour Champions is prepared for him.

George McNeilly works as a multimedia journalist on the PGA Tour when he’s not teaching Sports Business at Full Sail University after more than a decade as a senior ESPN executive.