After a quiet 2025, one of Tiger Woods’s peers encouraged joining the 50-and-over Tour, Bob Harig writes. Also: Bryson and the Ryder Cup, and two top golf executives meet.
The entire FedEx Cup season on the PGA Tour passed without Tiger Woods playing a single event. This is not surprising, given the Achilles injury he suffered in March, one that halted another comeback and one that has left questions about the future.
Aside from Woods’s own words at the end of 2024 that suggested he would play more this year—and some promising signs at the PNC Championship and even in his limited indoor appearances at TGL—there was not much else to go on throughout 2025.
Although Woods has been active with various PGA Tour duties behind the scenes, he’s rarely been in public, save for a few times he’s been spotted at his son Charlie’s events. He’s been walking without aid but there is no indication to what level, if any, Woods has been attempting to ramp back up.
All of this is comes as a prelude to some comments from Ernie Els last week that make a lot of sense—if Woods is going to play again.
With his 50th birthday approaching on Dec. 30, there is some muted hope that Woods might sample some Champions Tour golf. In the past, Woods has not shot down the idea, joking about getting to use “a buggy” and rejoining some of his peers inside the ropes.
If Woods does, indeed, attempt his limited schedule including the major championships, playing some 54-hole events while using a cart but having to hit shots under pressure, on TV, with big crowds, is an ideal way to shake some of the rust that has inevitably an issue for him over the past few years as he dealt with the impact of the severe injuries to his lower right leg.
“I’ve said, please come play,” Els told the Palm Beach Post last week at a groundbreaking ceremony for the latest addition to his foundation’s complex for individuals with autism. “And I think it can only be beneficial to him. He will get himself in golf shape. You can ride a cart without any shame and if there was one guy that should be able to drive a cart, it’s him.”
The Champions Tour schedule has yet to be announced but there would clearly be opportunities for Woods to play, thus honing his game in advance of the major championships or other events he might want to play.
Perhaps the biggest drawback for Woods in recent years has been his inability to get the proper reps necessary to be competitive at such a high level. It’s difficult to arrive at the Masters—as he did in 2024—having played one round of competitive golf.
All of which makes his 47th-place finish at the 2022 Masters—just more than a year removed from the car crash that led to numerous issues—all the more remarkable. Woods has played the Masters three times and made the cut each time since the crash. But he’s been unable to sustain any momentum, any consistency.
Some of that stemmed from further back issues which he dealt with a year ago without another procedure and which offered some promise for 2025 after another procedure.
In his limited appearances, at both the PNC and via TGL, Woods appeared to be swinging the club fine. It’s been said often that, given the opportunity, Woods remains an elite ball-striker and iron player. He simply hasn’t been able to hone his skills.
Does Champions Tour golf offer that opportunity? It comes at an interesting time, too, as there are murmurs of a reduced Champions Tour schedule amid the PGA Tour’s new for-profit structure. While perhaps involved in those talks, Woods could give the 50-and-over circuit a boost not seen since Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino made Champions Tour appearances.
But on a practical golf level, it makes a lot of sense.
“It doesn’t help him to finish 70th on the regular tour, not really getting proper reps,” Els said. “He can shoot 66 [on the Champions Tour]. Get your confidence up, make those birdie putts under the gun.”
Woods has not played an official tournament since missing the cut at the 2024 British Open at Royal Troon. There is some hope he might play the Hero World Challenge, his foundation’s tournament, in the Bahamas before another return to the PNC in December.
But Woods needs more than that if he is to resume playing. And he deserves to handle this however he believes is appropriate. The 15-time major champion is exempt for the Masters, PGA and the Open but would need a special exemption for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, which would easily be forthcoming if he showed an inclination to play
There’s been some chatter that Woods might want to play some of the senior majors but three of them require walking, including the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, a place many have circled.
First things first. Where will Woods return and when?
