Tiger Woods may be back swinging some golf clubs, but he’s not close to getting back on the course and starting to compete again.
The golf icon says that while he has been cleared to start hitting balls after undergoing his seventh back surgery this past fall, he still has a long way to go in his recovery.
Woods, who turned 50 years old on Dec. 30, spoke with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt before his Jupiter Links GC took on New York GC in TGL action on Tuesday.
“I’ve been cleared to hit, basically, hit short irons and mid irons,” said Woods, who has won 15 majors in his illustrious career. “I haven’t gone any beyond that.”
He also said that he has realistic expectations for whenever he is able to return to action, given his age and the wear on his body.
“Whenever that time comes, when I start hitting drivers, and I start playing at home, and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half, so I’m gonna be pretty rusty,” he said.
“And so, there’s a lot that goes into it. My prep is gonna have to be a little bit different from my other procedures I’ve had in the past. I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess, because I’m 50. And that happens.”
Tiger Woods could lose world ranking
After turning 50, Woods now also qualifies to play on the Champions Tour, but there is an added reason why he likely would prefer to play a PGA Tour event: He’s close to completely losing his world ranking.
Due to his lengthy layoff as a result of injury and surgery, Woods — who currently sits at No. 2,626 in the World Golf Rankings — will become unranked if he hasn’t completed a tournament before this year’s British Open.
Woods hasn’t played a full four rounds of professional golf since the 2024 Masters and, in his most recent event, missed the cut by 12 strokes at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
According to Today’s Golfer, Woods “will become unranked in Week 29, 2026.”
Tiger weighs in Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour return
Tiger also shared his thoughts on five-time major winner Brooks Koepka ditching LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour.
“I think it’s incredible for the tour,” Woods said. “It’s incredible for all the fans and the fan initiative program that we did last year, what they wanted. They want to see the best play against the best.
“And for Brooks to want to come back a year early, and he was able to do that, and we worked through Christmas, and through their part of the year, with both boards, all the player directors, other players as well, to make sure that this is right.”
Koepka rejoins the Tour as part of a new Returning Member Program — which comes with a price.
As part of the terms agreed to, Koepka will be able to return to play almost immediately, but with “strict limitations.”
Koepka will make a charitable donation of US$5 million and will be ineligible for both the Player Equity Program for five years (with a projected $50 million to $85 million in lost earnings) and the 2026 FedEx Cup bonus payouts.