Just three months after undergoing his sixth back surgery in September, Tiger Woods looked as healthy as he’s looked since his February 2021 car crash during the PNC Championship in Orlando. Playing in the two-person 36-hole scramble, Tiger teamed with son, Charlie, to finish second, losing in a playoff to Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason. Tiger elected not to use a golf cart, which was allowed under the rules of the PGA Tour Champions, and walked 18 holes on three consecutive days with minimal limping.
It was a positive sign for his chances to compete in the Masters in April, let alone the other three majors and possibly a few other events sprinkled in such as the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts in February. But the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, host venue of the PNC, in pancake-flat Florida, isn’t to be confused with playing Augusta National, one of the hilliest and toughest walks on the PGA Tour.
Veteran Tour pro Gary Woodland is among the players who argues that Tiger can make another run at a sixth Green Jacket.
“He knows that golf course so well, he can play his way around that place blind,” he said.
Last year, Woods set a record with his 24th consecutive made cut in the Masters, a streak that broke a tie he shared with Gary Player and Fred Couples. Woods had to play the final five holes of his first round on Friday morning, but despite playing in cold and windy conditions, he shot 73-72 to finish well inside the cutline. The weekend, however, wasn’t as kind as he carded a third-round 10-over 82, the highest 18-hole score of his Masters and major championship career as a professional. Woods finished in last place among the 60 players who made the cut and his 72-hole aggregate of 16-over 304 marked his highest 72-hole score in a career that spans three decades.
Woodland, for one, believes this year could be a different story. “His speed looked good, he hits it hard still. I wish he’d just get in a cart because if he can walk it, I’ve seen him hit enough balls. He still has all the shots. I saw him a month before and he came out and rode around with us and chipped and putted every hole and was moving pretty good. He looked really good at the PNC,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he wins another one.”
That would be a sixth Green Jacket, and major No. 16, five years removed when he turned back the clock to win the 2019 Masters. The next test for Tiger, who turned 49 last month, is if he’s able to play the Genesis Invitational next month. He sat out the 20-man Hero World Challenge in December, claiming his game wasn’t ready to play against the best in the world. He’s going to need to get some competitive reps, where he has to hit his foul balls unlike at the PNC, before showing up to play the Masters. He only played 24 holes of competitive golf leading up to the 2024 Masters, withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational in the second round. It would be encouraging to see him play 72 holes at the Genesis and perhaps the Players Championship, where he is a two-time past champion, or the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he is an eight-time past champion, both of which are held in March.
Fellow pro Billy Horschel said he was convinced that Tiger would break Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors after he claimed No. 15 in 2019 at Augusta. But then Tiger suffered a near-fatal accident in February 2021.
“I’d never count him out,” Horschel said. “He’s Tiger Woods. But he’s five years older and I would be hard-pressed to say he will (win another major) unless he’s healthy enough.”
There’s no better place for Tiger to make a run at another major than at Augusta. Unless Tiger has a major setback during his training, expect him to do everything in his power to compete in the Masters in early April.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2025-masters-tiger-woods-will-he-play-what-we-know
