Tour Confidential: Will Tiger Woods Actually Play on the Champions Tour?

Check-in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week we discuss Tiger Woods’ Champions Tour plans, The Skins Game and more.

Tiger Woods will host (but not play in) his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas this week as he continues to recover from his latest back surgery. Although Woods’ 50th birthday is approaching on December 30, this has led to more speculation about whether or not we will see Woods play on the 50-and-over Champions Tour in the future. Woods has been mostly quiet on the subject over the years, but has dropped some subtle teases. Is Woods playing the Champions Tour in any capacity actually realistic? And could he be successful?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsensgolf): If he’s healthy enough to stand tall and swing, we’ll see him sparingly, either because of his competitive drive or a partnership deal or a combination of both. I don’t see how he can stay away from it any more than Nicklaus did. And a Woods healthy enough to swing would certainly have a chance to win.

Jack Hirsh, Associate Equipment Editor (@JR_HIRSHey): If he can get a cart (and others in the field too), he will play. We know how competitive he is and if running is the biggest problem (which all the evidence supports) then we will see him on the PGA Tour Champions. He’s keeping us in suspense because he simply doesn’t want opponents on either tour to know what his game plan is. As for his success…would you bet against him against the same guys he hit left, right and upside? He even won with one hand tied behind his back. Now he will show that he can do it with just one leg!

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I think we might see him here and there on the Champions Tour, but I think if he can swing and thinks he can play competitively, he’ll tailor everything to play the majors. Does playing the Boeing Classic help with that? Maybe we’ll reach a point where Tiger is just playing on the senior tour, but I don’t think he thinks he’s there yet. But of course, if he does well, he can go out and be successful over 54 holes against guys he beat in his prime.

Despite his struggles to stay healthy and his game declining over the years, Woods is still golf’s biggest draw. What do you think a Woods start on the Champs Tour would do for that track? Would it be bigger than that week’s PGA Tour stop?

Feeling: The first time there would be a lot of excitement around it and an increase in ratings, but mainly as a kind of curiosity and a nostalgia tour. A bit like a Bob Dylan concert now. You want to see it. You must have seen it at least once. But whether you really need to see it often is another story. Personally, I’d rather remember Woods as the transcendent athlete he was than watch him go through the reruns of a nostalgia tour. So yes. I’m sure it would give the senior circuit a nice jolt, but wouldn’t it be healthier for everyone – Tiger, fans, tournaments – if we softened the hopes and expectations on the court?

Hirs: Depends on what the PGA Tour stop is that week. I see him playing in Senior Majors and occasionally making appearances at some of the more notable stops like the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach. That tournament has no PGA Tour competition. I can see him being hesitant to play in something like the Chubb Classic, the Tour’s first mainland stop, because it conflicts with the PGA Tour’s signature event at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He will be strategic when he plays.

Schrock: I’m sure it would inject some energy and money into the circuit if he picks it up. It would probably make these events more popular than some of the smaller PGA Tour events because, as Lydia Ko said, even those who don’t know golf know Tiger Woods. But it would be more of a nostalgic, feel-good viewing experience than anything else, and that only goes so far.

The Skins Game returned to TV on Friday as Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele battled it out at Panther National in Florida. What did you like? What didn’t you like? And was it enough to prove it has staying power?

Feeling: My feelings about the event were like partially reheated turkey: lukewarm. The players were all likeable and some of the jokes, especially Xander’s, were entertaining. But the amounts they were playing for were off-putting (unless I missed it, there was even passing mention of any proceeds going to charity), and the insincerity of a broadcast that pretended we should be excited about how much each man was saving — rather than put off by it — gave me post-Thanksgiving agita.

Hirsh: Meh, I found myself having it on in the background while doing some Black Friday Amazon-ing. I liked Keegan boot-racing with everyone and showing what could have happened at the Ryder Cup (holds back angry tears). Panther National looked cool too. But I’m with Josh. It fills a sports void on Black Friday morning, which I think is worth something.

Schrock: Like most of golf’s one-off attempts at grabbing eyeballs, it was meh. There were some good moments. The personalities were entertaining enough, but once again I think golf needs to go down the ‘do less, not more’ path that Brian Rolapp seems to be going. These special events are okay every now and then, but I don’t think they should return as a Black Friday tradition before the NFL or a charged college football game. As Tiger, Rory and others have previously noted, golf doesn’t mix with football.

Our Josh Sens unveiled the 2025 Turkeys of the Year, our annual awards given for missteps or other regrettable moments over the past eleven months. Who or what will take your choice home?

Sens: Rory’s fan abuse on Bethpage, hands down. For a mix of mindlessness and ugliness, that was hard to beat.

Hirs: I’ll get more specific here on the subject of Sens and say it was that announcer who joined in the “F-You Rory” chants at the first tee. What are we doing?

Schrock: How could it not be all that happened at Bethpage as the Europeans roared to a huge lead? If I had to pick a silver medalist, I’d probably go with Phil because of… well, everything.

Let’s end the holiday weekend with an easy (and cheap) weekend getaway. What are you grateful for in the golf world?

Sens: I’ll see your cheese and serve you some schmaltz. But it’s an honest answer: the friends I’ve made playing golf on every continent where the game is played, plus quite a few of them right here in my hometown.

Hirs: That my fiancée, Becca, hit a 5-wood this weekend that was long and high enough to hit and hold the green on the par-3 5th hole at Bandon Trails on a Trackman simulator! I don’t care if she ever golfs more than once or twice a year, but it certainly won’t hurt matters!

Schrock: Extra cheese, anyone? Having a course that allows us to travel, play and golf is hard to beat. Not a bad way to ‘work’.

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