Hopes of Tiger Woods appearing at the Masters seem to have been dashed, with the 15-time major champion confirming that he has undergone surgery on an Achilles injury sustained in practice.
While golf fans have got to see Tiger Woods feature on a number of occasions in TGL, the 49-year-old is yet to make his return in a PGA Tour event this year. Woods announced that he was not ready to tee it up at the Genesis Invitational following the passing of his mother.
Some hoped Woods may decide to play at the Players Championship to get some competitive rounds under his belt ahead of the Masters. However, it seems that it will be a lot longer before Woods does get back out onto the course.
Woods announced on Tuesday that he has undergone surgery after sustaining an Achilles injury. He suffered the problem while practicing – perhaps ahead of an expected return at Augusta National.
The encouraging news as Tiger Woods confirms he’s undergone surgery
No timeframe was put on when he is planning to come back – or even if he is going to be able to make a return.
Speaking on Golf Channel, writer Jaime Diaz believes that Woods is unlikely to play again before 2026. However, he did suggest that there was some slightly more encouraging news from the statement.
“It’s a huge setback. He probably loses this year. There are examples of people coming back sooner from Achilles tendons but at his age and with all the things he has to do to train that make that so difficult, I don’t see a real quick recovery,” he said.
“But it was good news that it was minimal invasive and I think in his case good news that it was his left leg and not his right, as his right was the one which was damaged so badly in the car accident. So I think there is still hope for Tiger to play golf down the road here. Maybe his focus goes to the PGA Tour Champions, where he would like to set a record at the US Senior Open by winning the most USGA events if he were to happen to win that championship. He has things to play for. Being around with Charlie and carrying the game of golf with him is something I think he gets a lot of fulfilment from. But I still think he has an itch to scratch when it comes to competitive golf. I think he still thinks he has something in him and I don’t see him walking away without testing this very seriously.”
The question Tiger Woods may need to ask himself after yet another setback
The question Woods surely needs to ask himself is whether he thinks his body will give him enough of a break to justify featuring again in the majors.
Of course, no-one wants Woods to call time on his career at the highest level off the back of a year in which he missed three cuts and finished last of those who made the weekend at the other major. But it is definitely tough to watch Woods struggle to navigate 72 holes on some of the toughest courses in the world.
Woods’ body has taken so much punishment. Most people would have long retired had they dealt with anything like the same problems.
Hopefully, there are more chapters to be written when it comes to Woods’ career. But hopes must fade with each setback he has to deal with.
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