Is Tiger Woods Set To Make A Surprise Re-Entry At The PGA Tour?

Last Updated:December 03, 2025, 08:34 IST

Tiger Woods, recovering from October disc-replacement surgery, is cleared to chip and putt but remains uncertain about his golf comeback.

Tiger Woods in action (X)

Tiger Woods isn’t sugarcoating it — his road back from yet another back surgery is moving at a crawl.

Speaking at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on Tuesday, the 15-time major champion laid out the reality: he’s improving, but nowhere near ready to circle a return date on the calendar.

Woods, who turns 50 later this month, underwent disc-replacement surgery in October, the latest episode in a long-running saga of injuries and operations. He hasn’t competed since the 2024 British Open, and while he’s finally been cleared to start chipping and putting, the comeback timeline remains a giant question mark.

“It’s not as fast as I’d like it to be," Woods admitted when asked about his recovery progress.

Still, he insisted the operation was necessary.

“It was a good thing to do, something I needed to have happen and it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process."

That rehab process is familiar territory for him — for better or worse. This was his seventh back procedure, adding to a laundry list of physical setbacks that includes the devastating leg injuries from his 2021 car crash, a 2024 back operation, and a ruptured Achilles tendon he revealed in March.

So when asked whether 2026 scheduling was even on his mind, Woods didn’t hesitate.

“I’m just looking forward to just let me get back to playing again… I’m a ways away from that part of it," he said. “Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I’m going to play and how much I’ll play."

For now, he’s taking baby steps. “I just got cleared last week to chip and putt so it’s good," Woods said. “Now we got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym… Just letting the disc kind of set."

A February comeback at the Genesis Invitational? Don’t count on it. “As I said, I don’t know… A disc replacement takes time."

One thing he is sure about? The fire is still there.

“I’d like to come back to just playing golf again… My passion to just play — I haven’t done that in a long time."

(with agency inputs)

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Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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