Undaunted following a milestone birthday and a trio of recent major physical setbacks that have limited his tournament schedule to a trickle, Tiger Woods believes he has plenty of game left.
Woods said Tuesday afternoon at the site of the Genesis Invitational at Rivera Country Club he wouldn’t rule out returning for the 2026 Masters in April.
“I’m trying. Put it that way,” the 50-year-old Woods said. “The disc replacement has been one thing. It’s been a challenge to – I’ve had a fused back and now a disc replacement, so it’s challenging. “And now, I entered a new decade, so that number is starting to sink in and has us thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart. That’s something that, as I said, I won’t do out here on (in PGA Tour events) because I don’t believe in it. But on the Champions Tour, that’s certainly (an) opportunity.”
In reality, Woods might be too busy to play tournament golf these days. As the chair of the new Future Competitions Committee, Woods is heavily involved in what will be a new-look PGA Tour as early as the 2027 season, with a full roll out aimed for 2028. He revealed on Tuesday he was asked about his interest in being the United States captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup. “Yeah, they have asked me for my input on it, and I haven’t made my decision yet,” Woods said of the Ryder Cup showdown against Europe that is set to be played in Ireland. “I’m trying to figure out what we’re trying to do with our tour.
“That’s been driving me hours upon hours every day and trying to figure out if I can actually do our team, our Team USA and our players and everyone that’s going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time.” This week, Woods’ main focus will be to welcome the field to the Genesis Invitational where he is the tournament host. While Riviera was the site of his first ever PGA Tour event, on a sponsor’s exemption at the Los Angeles Open in 1992 when he was 16, the Southern California native will not be playing this week. But still could be on the course soon.
As for Augusta National, the 15-time major winner was asked if participating in the Masters was ruled out, Woods said “No.” Future changes to the PGA Tour are not expected to move the Masters off its traditional spring window, but Woods said a myriad of other options are being considered. The plan essentially will create a shorter tournament calendar while still improving the product.
“Yeah, we’re going to get more top players playing and we’re going to make it more competitive,” Woods said,” Having Brooks (Koepka) come back, having Patrick Reed play as well as he is and committed to coming back to the tour, having Scottie (Scheffler) as dominant as he has been, and to have Rory (McIlroy) complete the career grand slam, you have a lot of top players, but also you have a lot of youth that has come up.”