Tiger Woods Addresses Masters Decision After Making Golf Return in TGL Final

Will the G.O.A.T. tee it up at Augusta National in 16 days?

Tiger Woods made his return to golf during the TGL Finals. | GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tiger Woods made his long-awaited return to golf on Tuesday night by competing for Jupiter Links in the TGL finals. Unfortunately for Woods and Jupiter, his team lost after just 10 holes, 9–2 to Los Angeles, who went home with the second TGL title.

Although fans didn’t get to see as much of Woods as they would’ve liked (he only hit five shots aside from putts, and he didn’t play any singles holes), we did get a glimpse of what Woods’s game looks like right now. Even though he warned viewers that he’d be “rusty” before Tuesday’s match, he didn’t look that rusty. He hit a stinger off the tee on Hole 6, reaching a ball speed of 176 mph, for instance.

The question now is, will Woods commit to the Masters, which start in just 16 days? Woods sparked excitement amongst golf fans last month when he didn’t say “no” when asked if he had ruled out the Masters. He was noncommittal on Tuesday night, but it sounds like he’s still keeping the option open.

Here’s what Woods said after being asked if he’s made a decision on the Masters.

“As I said, I’ve been trying. Just this body is—it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25,” Woods said. “It doesn’t mean I’m not trying. I’ve been trying for a while. I’ve had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I’ve had to fight through and it’s taken some time. But I keep trying. I want to play. I love the tournament. I’ve loved being there since I was 19 years old. It’s meant a lot to me and my family over the years. I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that's going up there [his new nine-hole design at the Augusta municipal course], as well as the Champions Dinner.”

So, fans will at least see Woods on the grounds of Augusta National next month. But, we’ll see if he’ll be teeing it up or if he’ll be a spectator like the rest of us.

Woods also noted that he doesn’t know when he’ll make an official decision about the Masters.

“I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll be practicing, playing at home this week and keep trying to make progress,” Woods said.

The 50-year-old last played in the 2024 British Open before he underwent a back procedure that year to alleviate disk impingement. However, he then ruptured his Achilles and had surgery, keeping him out for the entire 2025 season. Then he had the disk replacement surgery in October, believed to be his seventh back surgery dating to 2014, for which he has said recovery has been slow.

Woods has won five Masters titles, with the most recent coming in 2019 when he made a miraculous return to the winner’s circle at age 43.

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