Tiger Woods expressed less confidence about playing in the upcoming Masters following Jupiter Links' TGL victory. A month ago, he had teased a potential return at Augusta National. Recent comments highlight ongoing recovery challenges from multiple surgeries.
Tiger Woods, who underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in October after a ruptured Achilles tendon in March, spoke after captaining Jupiter Links to a TGL victory on Tuesday. With the Masters 22 days away, Woods provided a more cautious update on his recovery at age 50, following seven back surgeries and other procedures. He stated, “I said I’ve been working on it. Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disc replacement is not a lot of fun. So Will Zalatoris went through it, he had two levels done, and it takes time. So as I said, I’ve had a lot of procedures prior to that, so the body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn’t quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it’s hard to just move around.” A month earlier, at the Genesis Invitational, Woods had indicated that a 2026 Masters appearance was not off the table and told CBS’s Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman of a real chance to return at Augusta National after Rory McIlroy’s Champions Dinner. Woods has not competed in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 Open Championship. Regarding next week’s TGL Finals against Los Angeles Golf Club, he plans to leave the lineup to Max Homa, Tom Kim, Akshay Bhatia, and Kevin Kisner, saying, “I think that I have been trying to play each and every one of these matches... I really don’t want to screw up the lineup, I just want these guys to keep playing.”
