Will Tiger Woods tee it up on the PGA Tour Champions?

There’s at least one milestone Tiger Woods hasn’t achieved just yet: turning 50. But that’s about to change. On Dec. 30, Woods will hit the half-century mark, an occasion we’re honoring here at GOLF.com by way of nine days of Tiger coverage that will not only pay homage to his staggering career achievements but also look forward to what might be coming next for a transformational player whose impact on the game cannot be measured merely by wins or earnings or even major titles. In our second “Tiger @ 50” entry (below), Jessica Marksbury explores the possibility of Tiger teeing it up on the senior circuit.

ICYMI: How much is Tiger Woods actually worth to golf? We investigated

***

For those of us for whom Tiger Woods has been a ubiquitous presence in the world of competitive golf, the idea of the game’s GOAT turning 50 is somewhat surreal.

As an elder millennial born in the mid-eighties, my experience of professional golf has always included Woods as the star frontman. He achieved his three-peat of U.S. Amateur championships when I was in elementary school, and claimed his first Masters title when I was in middle school. I watched him battle Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines during my first year as a full-time GOLF employee, and I was onsite at Augusta National when he won his 15th major title at the Masters in 2019. I simply can’t remember a time when the game didn’t include him.

Woods’ milestone 50th birthday this month highlights the sobering reality that, like Woods, I too am getting older. In Woods’ prime, it was easy to believe that we’d have the opportunity to watch him play for as long as he wanted to tee it up. But as time has passed, and Woods has missed collective years of tournament opportunities because of surgeries and rehab time, the harsh reality is that age and wear and tear, and the physically arduous nature of walking 72 holes of competitive golf, mean that Woods may have precious few starts left in him on the PGA Tour.

But! That’s exactly why the PGA Tour Champions is such an enticing option for both Woods and his legion of fans. Because on December 30, Woods will turn 50 and become eligible for the senior circuit, granting him the opportunity to compete against former adversaries like Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. And in most tournaments, Woods would play only 54 holes and have the option of using a golf cart, which could be a huge boon for his reconstructed body.

The question on everyone’s mind is: Will Woods choose to compete? Over the course of his career, he’s tended to keep his competitive plans close to the vest, often committing to tournaments at the 11th hour. The PGA Tour Champions, with its much smaller infrastructure, would be hard-pressed to accommodate the influx of fans that would surely accompany a last-minute tournament commitment from Woods, though PGA Tour Champions commissioner Miller Brady has said the tour is “well prepared” for the possibility of a Woods appearance.

What do some of Woods’ PGA Tour Champions peers think about the possibility of him teeing it up in 2026? I asked some of them for their take at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in November.

“As a friend of Tiger’s, I would love to see him come out and play and compete with us,” said Darren Clarke. “I think he’d have a great time. I hope he does choose to come out and play and I think, stating the obvious, he would be a massive addition for the Champions Tour. He would bring a lot of eyes and people out to see us having a little bit of fun.”

“I hope he’s healthy enough to be able to play anywhere, because it benefits our game when he’s playing,” Jerry Kelly added. “I want to watch him still, and selfishly, I’d love to watch him in the same group as me playing.

“It’s competitive out here, and that would go right into what he wants to do,” he continued. “He still wants to be competitive. I know he wants to be competitive on the regular tour, but I think if he came out, he’d realize he’d get the same feelings [here].”

Stewart Cink, who won three PGA Tour Champions titles this year, including the season-long Charles Schwab Cup, emphasized the value of the senior tour’s competitive environment.

“[Woods] already made his legacy. He’s not going to come out here and like, recreate a new legacy,” Cink said. “But I think he would be able to strip it down to its purest form, and that’s just competition, and testing himself out. It would be a good way for him to test out his body and see how things are going, getting ready for some of his other tournaments, majors and whatnot. It would be huge.”

As a PGA Tour Champions Player Director, Steve Flesch has an insider’s perspective on what Woods’ presence on the senior tour would mean.

“Every meeting we’re like, hopefully he plays,” he said. “Nobody knows. I think we all are in consensus that if he would play, he’d play maybe five [tournaments]. He’s certainly not going to play 15, but if we could get 10 out of him, that’d be fantastic. But nobody knows.

“I mean, we all hope he does. But we also hope if he decides to play that he lets the tournament directors know more than like, the Friday night before the tournament. My guess is he’ll play the majors that he can. But nobody really knows.”

The real crux of Woods’ participation on the PGA Tour Champions hinges on the same issue that puts a question mark on his regular PGA Tour competitive appearances: the state of his body’s health and the progress of his healing.

“I think everybody that plays out here also understands that, first and foremost, he needs to be healthy, and and focus on that,” said Thomas Bjorn. “I can’t see him playing a full schedule out here. But it’ll be nice to see him play a few, and I think we all enjoy watching him when he’s competitive. And I think that’s also a world that he would enjoy. But let’s see if he can get healthy first.”