Tiger Woods shared a discouraging health assessment Tuesday, raising substantial questions about his prospects for participating in next month’s Masters tournament even as he returned to competitive play for the first time in more than a year.
The 50-year-old golfing icon staged his return at the TGL Finals in Florida on March 24, where his Jupiter Links GC team experienced a devastating 9-2 loss to Los Angeles Golf Club. Woods displayed moments of his classic excellence—launching drives exceeding 300 yards and hitting a 279-yard 3-wood shot to within 24 feet of the hole. However, his remarks following the match exposed the difficult truth of his continuous struggle with injuries and a body that won’t cooperate.
“We got our **** kicked at the end,” Woods acknowledged following the match. “Three eagles in a row, we didn’t respond.”
The 15-time major winner has experienced a punishing series of physical problems. He received L4-L5 disc replacement surgery in October—his seventh back procedure in total. Prior to that, he had surgery to fix a ruptured left Achilles tendon in March 2025. Woods hasn’t competed on the PGA Tour since failing to make the cut at The Open Championship in July 2024—over 600 days ago.
Woods replaced Kevin Kisner in the Jupiter Links roster for Tuesday’s TGL Finals battle, teaming with Max Homa and Tom Kim. Jupiter Links established a 2-0 advantage, with Woods providing a beautiful approach on the second hole that created an early birdie. Then things fell apart dramatically.
On the featured “Stinger” hole, Woods executed one of his signature low-trajectory drives 318 yards down the fairway—a shot that had spectators briefly thinking the vintage Tiger had resurfaced. But on the par-3 seventh hole, Woods failed to make a crucial three-foot putt, banging his putter to the ground in anger. Los Angeles captured the momentum and maintained it, producing three straight eagles to finish the match before Woods could even play his planned singles match against Tommy Fleetwood.
Justin Rose provided the final blow on the par-five 10th hole, striking a 5-wood to within five feet. Jupiter Links conceded the eagle and the championship immediately. Rose, who fell to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the 2025 Masters, assisted Los Angeles Golf Club—which also includes Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala—to secure the title with a match remaining in the best-of-three final.
Despite the one-sided loss, Woods showed that his swing still possesses the ability to generate elite golf shots. His first full swing of the competition was a 3-wood from 279 yards that landed just off the green. “Welcome back, young man,” Homa said to Woods after that shot. The TGL format—where players execute only selected shots rather than full rounds—left Woods hunting for rhythm in an unusual competitive setting, but the raw power was clearly still present.
The five-time Masters winner has maintained a non-playing position with Jupiter Links throughout the 2026 TGL season as he recuperated from his back surgery. His prior competitive outing occurred in early March 2025, also in the indoor team league he co-founded with McIlroy. Woods has finished just four 72-hole tournaments in the previous five years and competed in only 11 official events during that period, following his career-threatening car crash in February 2021.
The Masters starts April 9 at Augusta National, providing Woods less than two weeks to decide whether his body can withstand golf’s most challenging test. He verified he’ll attend either way, taking part in the Champions Dinner, where McIlroy will serve as host after winning the green jacket in a dramatic playoff triumph over Rose in 2025—the year Woods was absent due to his Achilles injury. Woods is also anticipated to be associated with The Loop at The Patch, the nine-hole short course his TGR Design firm built at Augusta’s municipal golf course, which opens to the public April 15.
Woods’ recent Masters record paints a grim picture. He recorded a career-worst major round of 82 at the 2024 Masters, placing last among the 60 players who survived the weekend with a 16-over 304—his highest 72-hole score as a professional. He pulled out before the final round in 2023 due to injury. His single positive moment came in 2022, when he finished 47th in a remarkable comeback after his devastating car accident, an appearance that witnessed him receive standing ovations simply for finishing all four rounds.
As a past champion, Woods has no deadline to commit to the tournament. He can delay until the final possible moment to make his decision, though he stayed noncommittal when asked for a timeline on Tuesday. “I’ve been trying, this body doesn’t recover like it did when I was 24, 25,” Woods told reporters. “I keep trying—I want to play.”
Woods pursues history at Augusta. With five Masters victories, he stands one behind Jack Nicklaus’s record of six. But at 50 years old, with seven back surgeries and numerous other procedures burdening his body, Woods confronts a harsh reality check about what remains achievable in his legendary career.
Jupiter Links had defeated McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf in the TGL semi-final on March 17, establishing what should have been a successful finals run. Instead, Los Angeles prevailed across two matches, and Woods was left to consider whether his competitive days at golf’s highest level have reached their conclusion—or whether one more Augusta miracle remains within reach.
Woods was taken into custody on suspicion of DUI after his vehicle overturned on Jupiter Island, Florida, on March 27, and was released from jail that same night after posting bail. A breathalyzer registered a 0.00 blood‑alcohol level, yet deputies concluded he was impaired, and he declined to provide a urine sample.
He now faces misdemeanor charges for driving under the influence, property damage, and refusing a lawful test.
