Tiger Woods made one thing pretty clear:
He wants to play the Masters.
There was plenty to discuss as Woods took the stage ahead of this week’s Genesis Invitational. We’re used to these State-of-the-Tiger updates, which appear biannually on Tuesday mornings ahead of the Hero World Challenge and Genesis Invitational, the two tournaments Woods hosts. The biggest revelation was expected to be something – anything – about the mysterious new schedule that Woods, Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and various stakeholders have been preparing. We did hear about that; Woods was in a jovial mood and relatively candid, which we’ll explain in a moment.
But there is still one breathtaking combination in golf: Tiger Woods and the Masters. And so, when Woods teased that
-He is “trying” to return to competitive golf
-He can hit full shots
And
-The Masters is off the table
it was quite easy to read between the lines. Woods’ grin as he confirmed the latter told a fuller story. If he can get his body and his game ready, we can expect to see him at Augusta National.
Of course, we haven’t received any official confirmation. Woods will probably keep us waiting. But as he played it would be his first competitive start (not counting TGL) since the 2024 Open Championship. And it would test his incredible tournament record streak of 24 consecutive Masters records.
“It’s just one of those things where I keep trying every day, keep progressing, keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it to a level where I can play at the highest level again,” he said.
Here’s what else we learned from Woods.
1. He’s considering captaining the U.S. Ryder Cup.
Woods was in a light mood; he chuckled when longtime golf writer Geoff Shackelford mentioned his recent work as captain of Jupiter Links and used that as a bridge to a question about his potential Ryder Cup captaincy.
“Good connection there. That was good,” Woods said.
But then he gave a serious answer. In December, Woods clarified that he had not heard from the PGA of America about the role; now it’s clear he did.
“They’ve asked for my input, but I haven’t made a decision yet,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what we’re trying to do with our tour. That’s taken me hours and hours every day – and [I’ve been] I’m trying to figure out if I can actually do Team USA and our players and everyone that’s going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time.
“Being on two boards and what I do for the PGA Tour, I’m trying to figure out if I can actually do this and serve the people involved and serve them at an honorable level.”
Again, we’re reading between the lines a bit, but it sounds like Woods has unofficially been handed the role of U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 competition at Adare Manor in Ireland. The captaincy is a heavier responsibility than it used to be, and Woods clearly takes it seriously. But the PGA of America also likes plenty of lead time for its captains, so Woods’ decision will be worth keeping an eye on as his other responsibilities evolve in the coming months.
2. He’s considering the PGA Tour Champions.
Woods was asked how close he is to a possible return to competitive golf – either on the PGA Tour or the Over-50 Champions circuit.
“Well, I try to put it this way,” he said. That part is evergreen. But the obstacles keep piling up; Woods’ most recent surgery was a lumbar disc replacement in October. He has recovered from last year’s ruptured Achilles tendon, but described his ongoing back problems as ‘challenging’.
Still, there’s at least one reason why the older tour is attractive now that he’s turned 50:
“Now I’m into a new decade, so that number is starting to sink in and it is [me] thinking about the possibility of playing in a cart. That’s something that, like I said, I won’t do here on this tour because I don’t believe in it. But that chance certainly exists during the Champions Tour.”
3. There will be a new Tour schedule. But maybe not all at once
Woods’ work as chairman of the Future Competition Committee sounds like it’s been… taxing.
“I thought I spent a lot of hours practicing in my prime. It doesn’t even compare to what we did in the boardroom,” he said, laughing.
Woods talked about the desire to “make our tour better” and “make our product better” and “create the right competitive model” and the challenges of keeping different stakeholders happy in the process.
“I think it’s literally trying to serve everyone, from the player side, from our media partners, from all our title sponsors, from the local communities or even changing locations and going to bigger markets,” he said.
He essentially confirmed reports that the Tour’s potential “improvements” include visiting larger markets, shortening the season and making its many moving parts work together more efficiently. The Tour has telegraphed its intentions to own the summer – to own the summer NFL offseason would be a different way to think about it – and Woods says a more focused approach makes sense compared to the 10-plus months players would compete in his full-time playing days.
“It was just a different landscape than it is now,” he says.
As for timing, Woods said in December that he was unsure how quickly the schedule could be renewed; There are still conflicting visions, existing contracts and a complex web of stakeholders. On Tuesday, he admitted that it may not be ready until 2027, but some things will be different.
“We would like to have it happen in 2027. We may have to roll it out over a period of a few years,” he said. “We may not be able to implement everything in 2027, but certainly parts of it will have been integrated or changed from what it is now in ’26 to ’27.”
Woods sang the praises of his fellow Policy Board members.
“I was hesitant that we would be in this position where we would be working together in this way and functioning at a level to make our product better. But everyone is. Everyone is trying to make the PGA Tour the best tour in the world,” he said.
4. Riviera could take a completely new place on the schedule
One of the most intriguing rumors surrounding scheduling is a possible shift in the West Coast Swing. This year’s schedule features the iconic locations of Pebble Beach and Riviera back to back, but Pebble was soggy and Riviera is cold and wet.
Perhaps the gloomy weather made it a particularly opportune time to ask Woods about the possibility of a shift to late summer.
“Well, I think you’re going to get weather other than this. That’s number one. We’re going to have perfect days. It’s always perfect in SoCal here in August,” he said. “So yeah, we’re looking at things like that and looking to get into bigger markets for the playoffs later this year. We’re just trying to improve our competitive model, and how do we do that. I think that’s one of the options, with Genesis. That’s definitely on the table.”
Immediately following Woods’ push, he was joined by José Munoz, president and CEO of Genesis, who announced that their partnership would be extended through 2030. Munoz added that the brand was cooperative in considering a possible date change.
“I think it’s a possibility,” he said. “We are very open-minded and willing to make things better.”
There are several moving parts, including the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the Olympic golf competitions at Riviera in 2028, but Woods suggested creative solutions are on the table.
“Whatever that looks like, whether we stay here in Southern California, whether we stay here at this time and date or whether we move to August or some other time, we’re looking at everything. It changes day by day, so if you ask me tomorrow, that could change,” he said.
5. Woods celebrated Anthony Kim’s comeback
Woods has been focused full-time on the future of the PGA Tour, so it’s rare for him to talk much about LIV’s golf tournaments. But on Tuesday he was asked about Anthony Kim, who made an unlikely comeback with a win at LIV Adelaide last weekend.
“He had so much natural talent. He could hit any shot he wanted,” Woods said, reflecting on a younger Kim. “Then to see him struggle in life and not really want to play golf, not really want to be a part of golf, and to see him come all the way back and win and be as dedicated as he is to his family, it’s a story that you have to wrap your heart around because of the struggles.
“We all deal with struggles. We all struggle in life. The longer it goes on, the harder times you’ve had. But to have him fight through it and to have Anthony get to where he’s gotten to, from the lowest point he was in, is something that, like I said, you just have to wrap your heart around.”
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