Tiger Woods is back at the Hero World Challenge, although for the fourth time in five years he won’t be playing, instead serving solely as tournament host.
When he will return to tournament action is unclear.
In a press conference at Albany in the Bahamas on Tuesday, the 15-time major champ said he’s still not sure when he’ll return to competitive golf as he continues to rehab following his latest back procedure. Woods underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in October, which followed a surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in March. He also had a procedure on his lower back in September 2024.
Woods made five PGA Tour starts in 2024 (making one cut) and later competed in the inaugural TGL season in early 2025 before his Achilles surgery sidelined him.
He said Tuesday his rehab hasn’t progressed as fast as he’d like, although last week he was cleared to begin chipping and putting.
“It’s been slow,” said Woods, speaking to the media for the first time since the latest surgery. “Not able to do much on a disc replacement to let it set. Can’t really do much. Now we got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym, started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven’t been able to do. Just letting the disc kind of set.”
He’ll sit out this year’s PNC Championship — where he’s teamed up with his son, Charlie — and will miss the first part of the new TGL season, although he said he’d be at every match his Jupiter Links squad competes in.
“Maybe play at the end of the [TGL] season here and there, but I don’t know,” he said. “I just started chipping and putting. I’ve got to hit more shots than just chip and putt in TGL. There’s a few drives I might have to hit.”
In 2024, Woods played all four majors plus the Genesis Invitational (although he withdrew mid-tournament with flu-like symptoms), where he also doubles as tournament host. He was asked if he wants to be ready to play the 2026 Genesis, which is Feb. 19-22 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, but was noncommittal and said rehabbing the disc replacement takes time.
“I’d like to come back to just playing golf again,” he said. “I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that’s been tough. And so my passion to just play, I haven’t done that in a long time. Just play. So I’ve had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months, and most of this year and quite frankly end of last year.”
With Woods’ injuries piling up and his 50th birthday (Dec. 30) on the horizon, he was also asked about his Champions Tour prospects. The over-50 circuit allows carts and consists of 54-hole tournaments, a formula that could be intriguing to aging legends, like Woods, who still have competitive juices.
“I’m just looking forward to, just let me get back to playing again, let me do that and then I’ll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be,” Woods said. “I’m a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level. Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before, it’s just step by step. 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.”
The Hero World Challenge, an unofficial PGA Tour event, has 20 of the top golfers in the world. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has won the last two years and is the heavy betting favorite yet again.
