Tiger Woods Uncertain About Masters Return, Focused on PGA Tour Reshaping
Tiger Woods hasn’t ruled out playing in the Masters this April, despite his ongoing recovery from a seventh back surgery. The five-time Masters champion is keeping his options open while primarily focusing on reshaping the PGA Tour’s future.
“No,” Woods said Tuesday at the Genesis Invitational when asked if the Masters, which begins April 9, was off the table. He didn’t elaborate further.
Woods is still working his way back from disk replacement surgery performed last October. He can hit full shots but not daily, and by his own admission, “not very well.”
“I’m trying — put it that way,” he said about his golf game.
Last year marked the first time in his career that Woods didn’t compete in a single tournament. He had surgery in March 2025 for a ruptured Achilles tendon, which he says is no longer holding him back. It’s his lower back that remains problematic.
“My body has been through a lot,” Woods said. “Each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing, I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again.”
At 50, Woods acknowledged recovery takes longer than it once did. He hasn’t yet played in the indoor TGL matches either.
Reshaping the PGA Tour
Woods has been pouring countless hours into his role on the PGA Tour board and PGA Tour Enterprises, heading the “Future Competition Committee” that’s working to create a model with fewer, more meaningful tournaments.
“I thought I spent a lot of hours practicing in my prime,” Woods said. “It doesn’t compare to what we’ve done in the boardroom.”
The committee has reached agreement on several key points: a big season start (potentially around Super Bowl week), moving premier events to bigger markets, and positioning golf as the must-see sport of summer.
One intriguing possibility is moving some California stops—including Riviera and Torrey Pines—to August as part of the tour’s postseason.
“We’re looking at things like that, looking to go to bigger markets later in the year for the playoffs. Just trying to make our competitive model better,” Woods said, confirming that moving the Genesis Invitational to August “certainly is on the table.”
While reshaping the schedule, Woods emphasized creating opportunities for emerging talent.
“We’re trying to create opportunities for that turnover… to get more youth out here because eventually they’re going to take over the game,” he said. “Trying to create the right competitive model and the environment to foster that, that’s been the greater challenge of it all.”
A players-only meeting was scheduled Tuesday at Riviera. CEO Brian Rolapp is expected to share some aspects of the plan at The Players Championship in March, with more clarity expected by summer. The new model likely won’t be implemented until after 2027.
Ryder Cup Captaincy Still Undecided
The PGA of America has approached Woods about captaining the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the 2027 matches in Ireland. Woods previously declined the role for the 2025 competition at Bethpage Black, which ultimately went to Keegan Bradley.
“They have asked me for my input on it, and I haven’t made my decision yet,” Woods said. “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—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.”
Woods became involved at Riviera in 2017 when his TGR Venture began running the event. He’s now the official host, joining Jack Nicklaus at the Memorial and the late Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill as the only players hosting signature events with 36-hole cuts.
Genesis announced it’s renewing as title sponsor at Riviera, though questions remain about the event potentially moving to late summer. Genesis also sponsors the Scottish Open in July, and there’s uncertainty about how Riviera could be held in August 2028 just a month after the Olympics.
