Tiger Woods left with one Masters option after coy response to Augusta question

Tiger Woods’ involvement in the Masters remains uncertain after giving cryptic updates on his recovery from back surgery, and he is running out of chances to play a tune-up event

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Tiger Woods is running out of opportunities to play before the Masters after opening the door to a comeback(Image: Rich Storry/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)

Tiger Woods has just one option left if he hopes to make his PGA Tour Champions debut and get some reps in before the Masters.

Woods is closing in on a return to action after injuries ruled him out for the entirety of 2025. The 15-time major winner has not played competitively since the 2024 Open Championship, and he had surgeries to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon and a bulging disk last year.

But Woods has had the all-clear from his doctors to play again, and he has hinted that he could take part in the Masters, which tees off at Augusta National on April 9.

After turning 50 in December, Woods is eligible to play on the PGA Tour’s senior circuit, and he has declared his intentions to compete when his body allows.

Following a sustained absence, it has been thought that Woods would ideally play a tune-up event on the PGA Tour Champions ahead of the Masters, rather than returning to competitive action at Augusta National straight off a long layoff.

But Woods has missed the deadline to commit to next week’s Cologuard Classic, leaving the Hoag Classic — which begins on March 27 — as the only remaining Champions Tour event he could play before the Masters.

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Woods has not played tournament golf since the 2024 Open at Royal Troon(Image: David Cannon/Getty Images)

Woods could theoretically play one of the three PGA Tour events remaining before the first major of the year — the Valspar Championship, Houston Open, and Texas Valero Open — with a sponsor’s exemption.

It is also possible that he could play in the TGL playoffs next week, with his Jupiter Links team facing Boston Common on Wednesday. The lineups for the match have not yet been revealed, and Woods could get some feel for competition by playing the win-or-go-home simulator league match.

But a runout in a senior event seems to be the optimal preparation in Woods’ circumstances. Not only would he get back in the heat of competition, but he would also have the benefit of using a cart, reducing the toll on a body that continues to feel the lingering effects of a high-speed car crash in 2021.

Woods delighted his fans last month when he insisted it remains possible that he could play in the Masters. He told CBS at The Genesis Invitational: “I know I’ll be there. We’re going to open up The Patch [golf course], and Trev Immelman and I are going to be part of a great dinner.”

When asked if there was a chance he could tee it up, Woods replied: “There is.” At a press conference before the tournament he hosts at Riviera Country Club, Woods went into more detail about his injuries.

“The Achilles was not an issue. I can’t dunk a basketball anymore, so don’t have to worry about that,” he joked. “As far as the disc replacement, it’s just sore. It takes time. Will Zalatoris went through it, and it took him a while to come back. I’m a little bit older than Willy Z.

“It’s probably going to take me a little bit longer. My body has been through a lot. It’s just one of those things where it’s each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing, I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again.”

Woods gave a cryptic update at a TGL match a few days later, telling ESPN: “[If I am] playing a member-guest, I’m ready to go [for tournament golf].”