Tiger Woods Hasn’t Ruled Out Masters But Made a Surprising Comment

Tiger Woods has yet to rule out playing in the Masters but his comments Tuesday—and lack of participation in TGL indoor golf—continue to cast doubt.

And then Woods dropped a reference to a second back surgery when asked about his preparations for the Masters.

Woods was responding to a question about not playing in any of the five TGL matches for his Jupiter Links team nor Tuesday’s semifinal match which saw a victory and a place in the finals next week.

“I think that I have been trying to play each and every one of these matches,” Woods said at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “I’ve been trying to come back. But it just hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve had a bad run of injuries last year.

“I think it’s been a year and a few days since I blew out my Achilles. And so then I’ve had two back operations. So it’s been a little rough go. 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.”

The Achilles injury and subsequent surgery basically ended Woods’s 2025 season before it got started. He had entered the Genesis Invitational but withdrew on the Monday of tournament week following the death of his mother, Kultida. He had played in several TGL matches and was believed to be gearing up for the Masters when he announced during Players Championship week that he had injured his Achilles and undergone surgery.

Later in the year, Woods announced in October that he undergone lumbar disk replacement surgery. Was there a previous back procedure in 2025 not disclosed?

Or, it is possible that Woods was referring to the September 2024 micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back? That surgery was said to be similar to the microdiscectomies he’d had a different area of the spine.

Woods had three such surgeries in the 2014–15 time period, a major spinal fusion in 2017 that ultimately led to his big 2018–19 comeback that saw him win the Masters and another microdiscectomy in 2020 just two months before the car crash in February 2021 that severely injured his lower right leg.

Walking has been the issue for Woods

The leg issues have made it difficult for Woods to walk, which is why he’s played sporadically since that time. He last played at the 2024 British Open, where he missed the cut. He played five times that year, missing the cut in three majors and withdrawing due to illness during the first round of the Genesis Invitational.

Woods has hinted at playing PGA Tour Champions for 50-and-older players due to the ability to use a golf cart, and he said last month at the Genesis Invitational and again at TGL interviews that he’s not ruled out the Masters. It’s possible he could enter next week’s senior event in Newport Beach, Calif.

But when asked specifically about the Masters on Tuesday, the 15-time major champion said:

“I said I’ve been working on it. Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun. So Will Zalatoris went through it, he had two levels done, and it takes time. [Zalatoris has played just three times since disk replacement surgery in May; he’s missed recent events due to an ankle injury.] 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 to move around.”

Woods remains listed in the Masters field and is not required to change his status prior to the event. There is no alternate list for the Masters so he would not be replaced if he chooses not to play.

In 2024, Woods made the cut in the Masters for the 24th consecutive time, a tournament record.

Walking has been the issue for Woods

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