I think I’m getting ready to turn off my mobile notifications for Tiger Woods’ tweets.
I would have turned it on in 2021 when a car accident almost cost me a leg and put the rest of my golf career in jeopardy. Or maybe it was late 2023. I waited to see how he would resolve the absurd PGA Tour-LIV “merger” that never happened.
Really, I’d like to hear when Woods will play again. But any golf fan will know two types of Woods tweets.
1. A statement that he would undergo another surgery. or 2. Promotional posts for a foundation or something else.
This week I received a notification that Woods had retweeted his clothing brand, Sun Day Red. Did you know that “Pioneer Willow applies clean blush construction to our highest performance technology, built from the ground up to serve athletes first”? Stuffy stuff.
He didn’t tweet the week of the Genesis Invitational. Probably because I was too busy with the responsibilities of hosting the event. But he knows how to grab headlines and keep the hype going.
That week, in his press conference as host, Woods did not rule out playing in the Masters in two months, competing on the PGA Tour Champions now that he is 50, or captaining the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team. But the more I think about it, the more these seem like empty headlines. Not ruling it out means that no decision has been made one way or another.
great. Let me know when you find out!
If anyone needs a quick refresher, Woods last played in the 2024 Open Championship. He had his sixth back surgery for a nerve impingement, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during an intensification of training in March and had his seventh back surgery to replace a disc last October.
As recently as December, he told reporters he could only chip and putt at that point, but now he can hit full shots. “Yeah, I can do it. I’m not good at it every day, but I can hit it.” Woods said at Genesis this month.
So, I am skeptical about returning to the Masters this year.
You must hit a good full shot every day until the first round on April 9th. Otherwise, passing the cut for 24 consecutive games will be in jeopardy. The rest of the golf world is getting younger and healthier. Woods’ last three Masters finishes (47th and 60th after making the cut) are his worst three since he was 20.
I’m intrigued by the idea that he might sign up for the Champions Tour just to play a few rounds while being allowed to drive a kart. Let’s be honest, he would be at the top of the leaderboard if he didn’t sweep the field, which would leave a lot of people trying to figure out how to watch those old guys on the circuit.
But with his body breaking down, Woods’ real struggle was getting on the course for four rounds, and as he has said in the past, Augusta National is no easy opponent in that division.
So the non-exclusionary declaration was a salesman’s tactic from someone who has been around and knows golf media and fandom all too well. If anyone is playing in April, please give me a call. Notification – Off.
