The entire FedEx Cup season on the PGA Tour passed without Tiger Woods playing a single event. This is not surprising, given the Achilles injury he suffered in March, one that halted another comeback and one that has left questions about the future.
Aside from Woods’s own words at the end of 2024 that suggested he would play more this year—and some promising signs at the PNC Championship and even in his limited indoor appearances at TGL—there was not much else to go on throughout 2025.
Although Woods has been active with various PGA Tour duties behind the scenes, he’s rarely been in public, save for a few times he’s been spotted at his son Charlie’s events. He’s been walking without aid but there is no indication to what level, if any, Woods has been attempting to ramp back up.
All of this is comes as a prelude to some comments from Ernie Els last week that make a lot of sense—if Woods is going to play again.
With his 50th birthday approaching on Dec. 30, there is some muted hope that Woods might sample some Champions Tour golf. In the past, Woods has not shot down the idea, joking about getting to use “a buggy” and rejoining some of his peers inside the ropes.
If Woods does, indeed, attempt his limited schedule including the major championships, playing some 54-hole events while using a cart but having to hit shots under pressure, on TV, with big crowds, is an ideal way to shake some of the rust that has inevitably been an issue for him over the past few years as he dealt with the impact of the severe injuries to his lower right leg.
“I’ve said, please come play,” Els told the Palm Beach Post last week at a groundbreaking ceremony for the latest addition to his foundation’s complex for individuals with autism. “And I think it can only be beneficial to him. He will get himself in golf shape. You can ride a cart without any shame and if there was one guy that should be able to drive a cart, it’s him."
The Champions Tour schedule has yet to be announced but there would clearly be opportunities for Woods to play, thus honing his game in advance of the major championships or other events he might want to play.
Perhaps the biggest drawback for Woods in recent years has been his inability to get the proper reps necessary to be competitive at such a high level. It’s difficult to arrive at the Masters—as he did in 2024—having played one round of competitive golf.
All of which makes his 47th-place finish at the 2022 Masters—just more than a year removed from the car crash that led to numerous issues—all the more remarkable. Woods has played the Masters three times and made the cut each time since the crash. But he’s been unable to sustain any momentum, any consistency.
Some of that stemmed from further back issues which he dealt with a year ago with another procedure and which offered some promise for 2025 after another procedure.
In his limited appearances, at both the PNC and via TGL, Woods appeared to be swinging the club fine. It’s been said often that, given the opportunity, Woods remains an elite ball-striker and iron player. He simply hasn’t been able to hone his skills.
Does Champions Tour golf offer that opportunity? It comes at an interesting time, too, as there are murmurs of a reduced Champions Tour schedule amid the PGA Tour’s new for-profit structure. While perhaps involved in those talks, Woods could give the 50-and-over circuit a boost not seen since Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino made Champions Tour appearances.
But on a practical golf level, it makes a lot of sense.
“It doesn’t help him to finish 70th on the regular tour, not really getting proper reps,” Els said. “He can shoot 66 [on the Champions Tour]. Get your confidence up, make those birdie putts under the gun.”
Woods has not played an official tournament since missing the cut at the 2024 British Open at Royal Troon. There is some hope he might play the Hero World Challenge, his foundation’s tournament, in the Bahamas before another return to the PNC in December.
But Woods needs more than that if he is to resume playing. And he deserves to handle this however he believes is appropriate. The 15-time major champion is exempt for the Masters, PGA and the Open but would need a special exemption for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, which would easily be forthcoming if he showed an inclination to play.
There’s been some chatter that Woods might want to play some of the senior majors but three of them require walking, including the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, a place many have circled.
First things first. Where will Woods return and when?
The Bryson dilemma
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley last week hailed Bryson DeChambeau’s ability to earn one of six spots on the team despite playing in just eight qualifying events.
DeChambeau earned enough points on the back of his play in the majors the last two years, winning the U.S. Open, finishing second at the PGA Championship twice and also contending at the Masters in two straight years. His tie for 10th at the Open in July—after rallying to make the cut—also helped get the sixth spot.
As a member of the LIV Golf League, DeChambeau had no other avenues to qualify.
“A lot to say about Bryson,” Bradley said. “One of the most incredible things is he qualified for this team off of eight starts, which is unheard of. But what I’m most impressed about Bryson is the effort that he’s made to be a part of this team. He’s had to travel, go out of his way to meet us in our places, and he’s gone above and beyond what we would ever ask of a player, and that’s the thing I’m most proud of. You can go on and on about what an incredible player he is and golfer, but what he’s done for this team, putting in the extra effort, is amazing to see.”
Now comes the hard part: how to use him.
Bradley and his assistants have undoubtedly been considering this scenario for a long time, but from the outside there are no easy answers.
DeChambeau’s length off the tee is certainly a huge asset at Bethpage Black. So is his popularity which will be an asset with a pro-USA crowd. But finding a partner is no easy task. And do you sit him during foursomes, a format he’s not been very adept at in previous team competitions?
His record in two Ryder Cup appearances is 2–3–1. He played in just two matches at the 2019 Presidents Cup and went 0–1–1. You almost have to throw out his appearances in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, he went 2–0–1 at Whistling Straits, twice partnering with Scottie Scheffler and going 1–0–1, both in fourball.
So DeChambeau didn’t play foursomes the last time and his experience with it prior was not great. What to do?
Do you put one of the longest and popular players on the bench for foursomes? Or do you attempt to pair him with someone, knowing the dynamics of the golf ball and totally different games might be a challenge?
Scheffler seems a good fit to play with Russell Henley in foursomes but could he pair with DeChambeau in four-ball? If DeChambeau plays foursomes, with whom? Perhaps Ben Griffin? Or J.J. Spaun? Two rookies with little experience?
Or perhaps Bradley and his assistants stick with the basics and have DeChambeau play four-ball and try to make as many birdies as possible.
It is an interesting decision.
The PGA Tour and the ball rollback
One of the more fascinating decisions—among many—facing PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is how the organization will respond to the governing bodies’ move to roll the golf back starting in 2028 for elite players.
The USGA and the R&A are changing the way golf balls are tested in order to conform to new distance standards. The changes are to be implemented in 2028, with recreational golfers to follow in 2030. Needless to say, the move is highly controversial.
The PGA of America is against the idea and the PGA Tour has expressed serious reservations.
Meanwhile, the Masters, the U.S. Open and British Open would possibly implement the new rule in time for the 2028 major championships, meaning two sets of standards for regular tour golf. A potential mess.
Mike Whan, the CEO of the USGA, recently met with Rolapp, a former NFL executive, before he headed to Florida to head up the PGA Tour. In a conversation with Sports Illustrated’s John Schwarb at the Myrtle Beach World Am, Whan said they met for three hours.
“I just went through USGA 101, soup to nuts,” Whan said. “It was great. I mean, he’s still learning a lot, just taking it all in. But I like him, and I know a lot of people that knew him, who have called me and knew him, so he came in with high credibility with me at the beginning. We had a really good conversation, he’s a good guy and I look forward to working with him.
“I took him through everything in governance that was happening—CT creep from the [driver] face, the golf ball, everything that we’re working on for the future. He was a great student.”
It will take some learning because the entire issue is complicated. For years, there has been a call to thwart how far a golf ball travels. Manufacturers, who already have the capability of doing so, are against it, wanting to sell distance to their consumers.
And PGA Tour pros are beholden to their endorsement partners. Plus, nobody wants to hit the ball shorter, even though it likely will be minimal changes for the average player.
The new testing conditions will include a club head speed of 125 mph, a spin rate of 2,200 rpm, and a launch angle of 11 degrees—which is geared more toward elite players. The new rules are expected to reduce driving distances for elite players up to 15 yards for the longest players but probably less than five yards for a recreational player.
The interesting aspect to all of this is whether the tours and the PGA of America will actually not adhere to USGA and R&A rules. The idea is unprecedented, although not necessarily impossible.
Over the years, there have been calls for the PGA Tour to implement its own rules. (What if, for example, the Tour wants to declare that out of bounds is not a stroke and distance penalty, but simply treated as a lateral hazard? That is but one extreme example.) And Rolapp comes from the NFL, which plays by different rules than college and high school football. In fact, Rolapp noted how NFL executives meet each year to discuss rules changes.
At the Tour Championship, Rolapp acknowledged he did not have “an informed opinion” on the topic. But he was asked if he could see the PGA Tour playing by its own rules.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Rolapp said. “I think it falls into the category of let's honor tradition but not be overly bound by it. I think we need to have a more honest conversation about what's best for the Tour and what we need to do to make it more compelling for the players and for the fans. That's always going to be my lens, first and foremost.”
All of which makes for an added aspect to an interesting time in the game.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as If Tiger Woods Returns in 2026, There’s Another Tour He Could Play.