Tiger Woods’ senior tour prospects? Jack Nicklaus has some thoughts

With Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour Champions eligibility now less than two years away (mark your calendars: Dec. 30, 2025!), fans are already looking forward to watching Woods tee it up alongside his contemporaries.

How will Woods fare on the senior circuit? That obviously remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: performance expectations are already sky-high. Ask Jack Nicklaus.

“I think Tiger will play the senior tour,” Nicklaus told Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner on Wednesday’s episode of Golf Central.  “He’ll be able to get in a cart, and he’ll absolutely kill everybody.

“He’s a talented guy, a great worker, got a great work ethic. Loves to play golf. I know he’s concentrating on his son Charlie a lot right now, rightfully so. I think the father-son relationship is terrific, and I’m happy for Tiger with that.”

Woods has never definitively said that he will play the Champions tour, but Nicklaus, in a different interview last year, said that Woods told him that he does plan to tee up with the 50-plus set. At the 2023 Masters, when Woods was asked whether he would consider using a cart in PGA Tour events, should he be granted use of one for medical reasons, he said: “I’ve got three more years, where I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred (Couples). But until then no buggy.”

Nicklaus, who holds the major championship win record with 18, also expressed his sympathy for the physical setbacks Woods, who won his 15th career major at the 2019 Masters, has endured over the course of his career.

“I think Tiger’s about capable of doing anything he ever wants to do, always has been,” Nicklaus said. “I feel bad for him that he can’t walk like he wants to.

“I think if he remained healthy, I think he would’ve caught [my major record], but he didn’t remain healthy,” Nicklaus continued. “We all have injuries, we all have different things in our life that change things, and Tiger has his problems. I feel bad for him about it, but it is what it is. He’s still a great influence for the game of golf. His coming back to be on the policy board, and be part of the direction of the game going forward, it’s a great addition on the board. He’s got a great insight of where it goes, where it should go, and I’m fully supportive of anything I see Tiger do. Tiger and I have always got along great, and got a great relationship.”

As for Woods’ prospects on the PGA Tour this season, Nicklaus said it all depends on how his body holds up.

“My take on Tiger? He’ll probably play a few tournaments this year,” Nicklaus said. “He may be successful depending on how his body holds together. I’m delighted to see him have the ability to go play.”

In addition to Woods, Nicklaus and Lerner discussed a number of topics, including LIV and the golf-ball rollback. You can watch the entire segment here.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.