When Tiger Woods announced that he had undergone surgery on a ruptured Achilles heel and would miss The Masters earlier this year, the entire golf world let out a collective sigh.
It is remarkable the lengths that Tiger Woods has been prepared to put his body through in recent years. You would imagine that most players would have long retired had they dealt with the same amount of punishment as the 15-time major champion.
But there were plenty of positive signs. Woods was incredibly close to winning the PNC Championship alongside his son Charlie late last year. Meanwhile, he looked in good shape during TGL.
But just as it seemed as if Woods had given fans reason to dream that he may finally be about to receive a break and be able to play a few more tournaments in 2025, the Achilles injury dashed those hopes. Woods is expected to be missing for the rest of the year.
Why Tiger Woods may decide to extend his playing career
The big question now is whether Woods will be able to return at all. He turns 50 in December, so will be able to play on the Champions Tour.
Initially on 5 Clubs, Brad Faxon was asked about the prospect of Woods playing the US Senior Open at Scioto in 2026, and he ended up answering that question slightly later on as he discussed the careers and longevity of both Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
“That’s a great, great point. Ernie came over from South Africa, big guy, hit it a long way, was intimidating to play with, just because of the way he played and couldn’t have been a nicer guy. Phil reminds me a little bit of a Tom Watson, a guy who didn’t necessarily bore you to death with how straight he hit it; you couldn’t predict what Phil was going to do, but he found a way to get the ball in the hole quicker than most guys. You asked me in the last question – my wife always kids me because I forget to answer questions sometimes – you asked about Tiger and will he play at Jack’s event, and the motivation these guys have. I look at Tiger now and his son Charlie who’s turned into a very, very good player and I can see Tiger extending the length he plays because of Charlie, like Mark O’Meara had his career extended because of Tiger. Having him to come out to play a US Senior Open would be incredible for the game of golf, not just for the Senior Tour,” he said.
“The guys like Langer that have played for a long time, like Ernie Els, like Phil Mickelson, they have something inside them that they just want to compete. It’s not about winning trophies or winning certain amounts of money. It’s just that they want to play and compete all the time.”
The rumour concerning Tiger Woods and his plans for the Champions Tour
While the standard of the Champions Tour is not to be taken lightly, it would be less taxing physically than events on the PGA Tour or the majors.
Woods would be able to use a cart, which would surely make his life significantly easier. There have been suggestions that Woods had been planning to play a full schedule on the Champions Tour.
That would be a huge boost for the tour itself. Meanwhile, it may also help prepare Woods for the majors; giving him that competitive edge that he must lack playing only a handful of times a year.
Perhaps golf fans will indeed get to see Tiger Woods and Charlie Woods tee it up in the same major one day.
