All the talk concerning Tiger Woods right now is revolving around whether or not he will compete on the PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50 at the end of this year.
Woods recently underwent yet another back surgery in October, this time a disc replacement procedure.
And as a result, some fans are questioning whether we will ever see the 49-year-old play on the PGA Tour again or indeed the PGA Tour Champions, let alone in major championships.
As things stand, it has been suggested that there is a 50 per cent chance that Woods will play on PGA Tour Champions after his 50th birthday.
Woods stands alongside Jack Nicklaus as one of the two greatest players to have ever graced the game.
And the thought of the 15-time major champion never playing competitively again is a tough one to accept for golf fans.
With that in mind, Jim Furyk has offered his take on the situation.
Jim Furyk on what he’ll tell Tiger Woods about playing on PGA Tour Champions
Furyk himself has achieved huge success on the senior circuit, with three wins to his name on PGA Tour Champions including the 2021 U.S. Senior Open.
The 55-year-old really enjoys his time out on the Tour and even has a tournament named after him – The Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS.
When speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, the 2003 U.S. Open champion responded when asked about the impact Woods would have on the senior tour.
He said: “A huge impact. You remember when he came to the PGA Tour, I don’t think any of us had any idea. It hit us like a ton of bricks as far as how fast things were moving, security, fans, the excitement. But the economic impact on the Tour and the cities that he played in and events that he played in was astronomical.
“For us, if he does indeed decide to play some events, being prepared and ready is step one but two it would be a huge boost for our Tour.
“I think we have a lot of great value. We always talk about the PGA Tour umbrella and we play in a lot of cities where the Tour does not go.
“We have a number of amazing communities, raise a lot of money for charity, affect those communities in a positive way but also touch on areas that don’t see PGA Tour golf live and they get to see Bernhard Langer and Collin Montgomerie and Ernie Els, week in and week out and year in and year out. I think we add to the value of the PGA Tour and it’s fun standing on our own.
“Just because we are old does not mean we are not competitive any more. We are still highly competitive out there and we still have some fun out there.“
Furyk was then asked how he would respond if Tiger sent him a text message asking him for advice about what he should do when he turns 50.
He replied: “I think honestly the first thing I would say is that you have to dip your toe. When I turned 50 I still wanted to play the PGA Tour and I still thought I had a little, so the first full year where I could play either tour I played seven PGA Tour events and 15 Champions Tour events. And then every year I went to three and then I went to one, and then I went it’s time for me to move on.
“I think just dip your toe, come see what it’s about and if you like it. It’s a lot less taxing on all of us. I love the carts in the practice rounds, it’s the greatest invention ever. You don’t have to take a cart if you don’t want to in the tournament, but I have not played a practice round in [over] four hours yet.
“Then you go to the PGA Tour and you are lucky to play nine holes in three hours in practice. It’s less taxing on your body. Three round tournaments. It’s a track meet. You shoot one or two under and you feel oh no, I have to shoot 63 to get back in the tournament.
“Come see if you like it and enjoy it, and one by one – almost everyone I have talked to – says I kind of like this Champions Tour thing. This is a bit more fun, a bit easier on the body. I get myself in contention more often and chances to win tournaments. When you’re 50 years old, it’s fun.“
What Tiger Woods said about playing on the PGA Tour Champions
Back in 2020, Pat Perez revealed what Woods told him about potentially playing on the Champions Tour when he reaches 50.
Perez said: “I was talking to him about the Champions Tour, I said, ‘would you ever think about playing it’? He goes, ‘there is only one thing I want, I want that U.S. Senior Open trophy’. Because then he has them all, he has every USGA trophy.
“That would be unbelievable to have the U.S. Junior, U.S. Am, U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open, which nobody has.
“If you get it, it’s monumental.“
Woods is clearly determined to win the fourth USGA governed trophy of his career.
However, if he is to have a chance of winning the U.S. Senior Open, he will surely need to play some events in the build-up to the championship.
Whether Woods chooses to play them on the PGA Tour Champions or on the regular Tour remains to be seen, though.
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