Tiger Woods delivered a sobering health update Tuesday, casting serious doubt on his ability to compete at next month’s Masters tournament despite returning to competitive golf for the first time in over a year.
The 50-year-old golf legend made his comeback at the TGL Finals in Florida on Tuesday, March 24, where his Jupiter Links GC squad suffered a crushing 9-2 defeat to Los Angeles Golf Club. Woods showed flashes of his former brilliance—uncorking drives over 300 yards and striping a 279-yard 3-wood to within 24 feet of the pin. But his post-match comments revealed the harsh reality of his ongoing battle with injuries and a body that refuses to cooperate.
“We got our **** kicked at the end,” Woods admitted after the match. “Three eagles in a row, we didn’t respond.”
The 15-time major champion has endured a brutal stretch of health setbacks. He underwent L4-L5 disc replacement surgery in October—his seventh back operation overall. Before that, he had surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon in March 2025. Woods hasn’t appeared on the PGA Tour since missing the cut at The Open Championship in July 2024—more than 600 days ago.
Woods stepped in for Kevin Kisner in the Jupiter Links lineup for Tuesday’s TGL Finals showdown, joining Max Homa and Tom Kim. Jupiter Links jumped out to a 2-0 lead, with Woods contributing a gorgeous approach shot on the second hole that set up an early birdie. Then the wheels came off spectacularly.
On the signature “Stinger” hole, Woods hit one of his trademark low-trajectory drives 318 yards down the fairway—a shot that had fans momentarily believing the old Tiger had returned. But on the par-3 seventh hole, Woods missed a critical three-foot putt, slamming his putter to the turf in frustration. Los Angeles seized the momentum and never let go, ripping off three consecutive eagles to end the match before Woods could even take his scheduled singles match against Tommy Fleetwood.
Justin Rose delivered the knockout blow on the par-five 10th hole, drilling a 5-wood to within five feet. Jupiter Links conceded the eagle and the tournament on the spot. Rose, who lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Masters, helped Los Angeles Golf Club—which also features Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala—claim the championship with a match to spare in the best-of-three final.
Despite the lopsided defeat, Woods demonstrated that his swing remains capable of producing elite golf shots. His first full swing of the match was a 3-wood from 279 yards that finished just off the green. “Welcome back, young man,” Homa told Woods after that shot. The TGL format—where players hit only select shots rather than complete rounds—left Woods searching for rhythm in an unfamiliar competitive environment, but the raw power was undeniably still there.
The five-time Masters champion has held a non-playing role with Jupiter Links throughout the 2026 TGL season as he recovered from his back surgery. His previous competitive appearance came in early March 2025, also in the indoor team league he co-founded with McIlroy. Woods has completed just four 72-hole tournaments in the last five years and appeared in only 11 official events during that span, following his career-threatening car crash in February 2021.
The Masters begins April 9 at Augusta National, giving Woods just two weeks to determine whether his body can handle golf’s most demanding test. He confirmed he’ll attend regardless, participating in the Champions Dinner, where McIlroy will host after capturing the green jacket in a dramatic playoff victory over Rose in 2025—the year Woods missed due to his Achilles injury. Woods is also expected to be involved with The Loop at The Patch, the nine-hole short course his TGR Design firm created at Augusta’s municipal golf course, which opens to the public April 15.
Woods’ recent Masters history paints a sobering picture. He shot a career-worst major round of 82 at the 2024 Masters, finishing last among the 60 players who made the weekend with a 16-over 304—his highest 72-hole score as a professional. He withdrew before the final round in 2023 due to injury. His lone bright spot came in 2022, when he finished 47th in a miraculous comeback following his devastating car accident, an appearance that saw him receive standing ovations simply for completing all four rounds.
As a past champion, Woods faces no deadline to commit to the tournament. He can wait until the last possible moment to make his decision, though he remained noncommittal when pressed for a timeline 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 chases history at Augusta. With five Masters victories, he sits one behind Jack Nicklaus’s record of six. But at 50 years old, with seven back surgeries and multiple other procedures weighing on his body, Woods faces a stark reality check about what remains possible in his storied career.
Jupiter Links had beaten McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf in the TGL semi-final on March 17, setting up what should have been a triumphant finals run. Instead, Los Angeles dominated across two matches, and Woods was left to contemplate whether his competitive days at golf’s highest level have reached their end—or whether one more Augusta miracle remains within reach.
