Johnson Wagner has commented on the future of Tiger Woods, after the 15-time major champion confirmed last week that he had undergone surgery on his back.
Unfortunately, there is a large question mark over when Tiger Woods will tee it up again. Woods was already expected to miss the rest of the year after rupturing his Achilles in March.
Woods has now undergone back surgery. It was concerning to see the 49-year-old not mention any sort of timescale for his return. In fact, it was noted that Woods did not mention golf at all in his statement.
Whether Tiger Woods could still win on the PGA Tour if he used a cart
If anyone deserves to go out on their own terms, it is Woods. He completely changed the game when he arrived onto the scene in the 1990s. And he arguably remains the sport’s biggest superstar despite the exploits of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
The problem is that Woods simply seems unable to get his body in a place to play at the highest level again. He was only able to complete the four majors in 2024 – after withdrawing from The Genesis Invitational. But the lack of starts clearly stopped him gaining any momentum.
He missed the cut at the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open Championship.
Some PGA Tour players believe that Woods could still win again on the PGA Tour if he was able to use a cart. In fact, he was even backed to contend for a 16th major.
However, Johnson Wagner dismissed that claim. Speaking on Straight Facts Homie, Wagner admitted that he has doubts about whether he will even tee it up in another major.
“I owe my entire career to him. My retirement, anybody that played in the post Tiger Woods era on the PGA Tour needs to probably give him about 25 percent of their career earnings. That’s what he did for the game and for professional golfers,” he said.
“I remember playing at every event, my rookie event was ’07, every event that he played in felt completely different to every other event. You had Tiger events, and you had non-Tiger events. I say that because I have so much respect for him, and admiration for what he did. But I’m going to say this, I don’t think that we’ll ever see him play in another major championship. He’s always been a guy that’s said he’s not going to be a ceremonial golfer. I just don’t see a world in which we see him play in The Masters again. It makes me feel very sad. I just think his body is just beaten down. And I don’t think he can do it anymore.”
He added: “I don’t think that he would ever take a cart. So it’s hard to even say. But the Achilles issue he just had, and now another back surgery, I just think it’s added up. No, I don’t think, even with a cart [he would win]. I think the game has gotten young, everybody’s so good, I don’t think even with Tiger Woods in a cart right now, I don’t think he could be able to win.”
What Tiger Woods said about using a cart on the PGA Tour
The PNC Championship allows competitors to use a cart. That perhaps helped as Woods and his son Charlie managed to make a playoff last year.
They would ultimately lose out to Bernhard Langer and his son. In truth, it was fantastic to see how much Woods enjoyed the tournament. His smile after losing the playoff showed everyone that victory was far from everything for arguably the greatest player of all time.
Woods was asked about the prospect of using a cart in a PGA Tour event in the future. As things stand, carts are not permitted on the tour.
And it seems that Woods is not prepared to try and change the rules for his benefit.
“I wouldn’t, no. No. Absolutely not,” he said, as reported by Golf Digest. “Not for a PGA Tour event, no. That’s just not who I am. That’s not how I’ve always been, and if I can’t play at that level, I can’t play at that level.”
Obviously, Woods’ answer is emphatic. But if it allows him to bow out on his terms at some stage in the future, surely an exception can be made for one tournament.
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