Tiger Woods casts doubt on Masters participation amid injury recovery
Tiger Woods has cast doubt on his participation in next month’s Masters, admitting his recovery from recent back surgery remains inconsistent.
The 50-year-old golf legend has not featured in a competitive event since missing the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July 2024.
Speaking after a TGL semi-final event, the five-time Masters champion revealed his health continues to fluctuate following lumbar disk replacement surgery in October.
Physical toll delays competitive return
Woods also suffered a ruptured left Achilles last March, adding further complications to a body already scarred by numerous career-threatening injuries.
Addressing his rehabilitation, the former world number one was frank about his daily physical struggles.
“Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun.”
Tiger Woods
Recovery proves challenging for golf great
The 82-time PGA Tour winner acknowledged that his physical resilience has significantly diminished compared to his early career.
“I’ve had a lot of procedures prior to that, so the body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24,” he added.
“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 to move around.”
Managerial success provides indoor consolation
While his playing return remains on hold, the veteran is currently acting as the manager for his TGL franchise, Jupiter Links.
His team successfully navigated the playoffs before securing an unexpected victory over Boston Common on Tuesday night.
Jupiter Links will now face Los Angeles in the inaugural tournament’s finals starting next Monday.
Resisting the urge to alter a winning formula
Despite expressing a desire to compete alongside his roster of Max Homa, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia, the captain opted to keep his successful line-up intact.
“I think that I have been trying to play each and every one of these matches,” he explained.
“But the guys here, this team, we have so much fun, I really don’t want to screw up the lineup, I just want these guys to keep playing.”
