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Tiger Woods has not played in a competitive golf tournament since the 2024 Open Championship amid a variety of injuries, but that does not mean the golf world has slowed down trying to pinpoint his next outing. In fact, there's a legitimate possibility the next competitive tournament Woods plays is on PGA Tour Champions, not the PGA Tour he has dominated since his youth.
Woods turns 50 on Dec. 30, which will make him eligible for the senior circuit, a reality lost neither on the league nor its leader.
"Yes, we're ready. We're well prepared," PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady told Golf Channel. "We've done some whiteboarding over the past year in preparation for Tiger turning 50. And if and when he plays, our tournaments are prepared.
"It is going to be more: security, buses, portalets, concession stands -- all of that is taken into account when we plan for that."
Woods announced in October that he required a seventh back surgery due to a collapsed lumbar disc. No timetable for return was mentioned as the procedure was handled while the 15-time major champion was already recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left leg, which occurred before the 2025 Masters.
While Woods has not played in an official event since the 2024 Open, he did tee it up in the PNC Championship last December alongside his son, Charlie. The duo lost in a playoff. The 36-hole scramble grants Woods and other players the ability to use a golf cart -- a feature allowed on PGA Tour Champions every tournament.
Playing in all four 2024 majors -- Woods finished 60th in the Masters, missing the cut in the other three -- it was clear that his greatest struggle was physically walking the courses. This difficulty stemmed from a 2021 motor vehicle crash in which Woods required emergency surgery to repair multiple breaks in his tibia and fibula.
In the three years that followed, Woods competed in eight majors, playing the weekend twice (2022 Masters, 2024 Masters), withdrawing from two tournaments and missing four cuts.
Further aiding Tiger's ability to compete on PGA Tour Champions is a shortened playing format. The tournaments are contested across 54 holes instead of the 72. With one less round to play and with less stress on his lower body from use of the golf cart, Woods may be able to seriously compete on PGA Tour Championships when he decides to tee it up between majors.
"To be honest with you, given the last surgery, I just hope Tiger gets back on his feet and is able to play golf again," Brady continued.
While Woods will not be playing, he posted on social media that he plans to attend every match for his Jupiter Links Golf Club in the TGL during its second season. The simulator league's campaign kicks off at the end of December with Jupiter Links' first match set for Jan. 13, 2026.
