Despite missing three cuts in the major championships in 2024, it feels dangerous to ever write Tiger Woods off winning one more of golf’s four biggest events before his playing days are done.
Tiger Woods turns 49 before the end of the year. It has felt as though the 15-time major champion has faced a real dilemma throughout the season, with his body seemingly not able to handle more than a few tournaments a year. Of course, that has not allowed Woods to build up any kind of momentum.
Sadly, injuries have played a more and more prominent role in Woods’ career over the last 16 years. Between 1997 and the US Open in 2008, he did not miss a single major championship. Between 2016 and 2017 however, Woods did not feature in any of the majors after undergoing back surgery.
Obviously, that made what happened in 2019 all the more special and spectacular, as Woods went on to win The Masters to clinch his 15th major title. It was a moment which reminded everyone that you simply cannot count Woods out, no matter what he has been through away from the course.
Chris Como sheds light on time working with Tiger Woods
Chris Como worked with Woods between 2014 and 2017. And speaking on the No Laying Up Podcast about that stint together, Como suggested that he was almost as impressed by the former world number one during that period as he had been during any other spell in his career.
“It was honestly, I would say, one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever witnessed in my life. For us, mere mortals, he’s got who knows how much money, all the accolades, the best golfer arguably of all-time, all the respect you could ever have in the industry, and he’s in pain. His body’s not in a great place, he’s had a ton of surgeries, just in pain. And the way he got up and fought and still worked through things – he had the whole chipping thing, right, couldn’t chip a ball from 10 feet off the green onto the green for a minute, people saw that out loud at Phoenix and Torrey back in that window – the way he got up and did what he could do, he doesn’t know what’s going to be ahead of him, but just having that sort of effort, almost out of principle, out of the principle of just not giving up was unbelievable to me,” he said.
“The guy has zero give up in his body, and it was crazy to me because I knew that sort of pain and the struggle he was going through, and the way he just kept at it, regardless, it was truly remarkable.
“In my mind, it was the most amazing part of his career in a lot of ways. Obviously, he’s done all these incredible things, but just from a humanistic, human spirit side of it, it’s hard to imagine someone having that sort of resilience to get up everyday, given the circumstances and really put forth 100 percent effort and just fight out of it. And then he wins The Masters in 2019, it was just unbelievable.”
Question mark over what 2025 holds for Tiger Woods
It will be fascinating to see what the future holds for Woods. The easy decision would be to be happy with his lot and decide to call time on his playing career. But clearly, he is not interested in taking the easy route.
Some think Woods needs to make changes to his 2025 schedule, by making more appearances throughout the season if he is going to be more competitive in the majors. Meanwhile, Gary McCord revealed this week that there are rumours that Woods plans to play a full schedule when he is eligible to play on PGA Tour Champions.
The large majority of golf fans would love nothing more than to see Woods contend in the majors again, particularly as it is clear that he is in the twilight of his career at the highest level.
And judging by Como’s comments, it would appear safe to say that Woods is going to leave no stone unturned while the glimpses of his magic remain.
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