Tiger Woods has once again found himself sidelined from the PGA Tour, after announcing he had suffered a ruptured Achilles injury in the build-up to next month's Masters.
It's a bitter pill to swallow for Woods, who has not featured competitively since a horror showing and missing the cut at last July's Open Championship at Royal Troon. He was expected to play in last December's Hero World Challenge but was again ruled out through injury, having had back surgery two months earlier.
His latest fitness setback has not only raised question marks over next month's opening major championship of the season but also the rest of Woods' career as a whole. The five-time major champion will more than likely miss the trip to Augusta National next month, having undergone surgery on the issue.
"As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon.
"'The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,' added Dr. Stucken. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support."
Woods' unknown return date poses the question over whether he will even make a comeback at all. Ever since suffering life-changing injuries in a car accident in February 2021, doubt has been cast over Woods' playing days.
In typical Woods fashion, he defied the odds in 2022, recovering from the Los Angeles crash to tee it up at the Masters just over a year later. Since then though, the 82-time PGA Tour winner has played just 11 rounds of competitive golf across 10 events, with his discomfort on the golf course clear to see.
His Achilles problem could well lead to him missing all four majors this campaign, leaving Woods with a big decision to make come the end of the season. Whether he is able to make a start or not in 2025, he will end the year aged 50, ensuring he is eligible to compete on the PGA Tour Champions.
On the Champions Tour life would no doubt be much easier for the 15-time major champion. Shorter golf courses, 54 holes, and the use of a cart would only help Woods, but would the 49-year-old be willing to give up competing at the top level to make the move into senior golf?
He of course would be able to still play major golf. Woods has lifetime exemptions in the Masters and PGA Championship and is also able to play The Open until the age of 60. It also thought that if fit to play, he would more than likely be given an exemption into the U.S. Open as he was last year.
Woods does also have lifetime exemptions in the PGA Tour's Signature Events but is yet to take advantage of this perk amid his injury woes. The 49-year-old has however been open in revealing that he only feels comfortable entering events if he can compete, and with growing injury issues, this is only getting harder at the top level.
The path into the Champions Tour seems an obvious move, but doubt had been previously cast over whether Woods would make this move. A fellow major champion - and Champions Tour member - Padraig Harrington however revealed last month that Woods is keen to make the move.
So he has an intention of playing," Harrington told Today's Golfer of Woods' Champions Tour plan. "I think his words were, ‘I can’t wait to beat you out on the Champions Tour or something like that’. He doesn’t want me to have it all my own way, let’s put it like that! I’m looking forward to the challenge."
