Prediction made over whether Tiger Woods will play at the Masters in 2025 after latest back surgery

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Tiger Woods is still one of golf’s biggest attractions despite being a shadow of the player who dominated professional golf during the mid-2000s.

The 15-time major winner hasn’t been since The Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he finished 14 over and missed the cut. Woods intended to play the Hero World Challenge in December, but the 15-time major winner teeing it up in Albany now feels unlikely.

Woods underwent more surgery in September, which means the 48-year-old is unlikely to return to the course until 2025 at the very earliest.

Woods, however, will be back in action in January after the TGL fixtures were finally announced. Tiger will play on January 14 in the second round of games.

What condition Woods will be in remains to be seen, and Bunkered Podcast’s Bryce Ritchie believes the Masters is probably the next time Woods will be seen on a course.

Whether Tiger Woods will play the 2025 Masters

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Ritchie believes Woods’ next tournament outing will come at Augusta before a similar pattern emerges.

“It’s kind of sad to watch,” he said. “I did think he was going to walk, but I don’t think he is. I think Tiger – I would be amazed if he’s playing this month. The best thing for him, and I think he’s realised this, is absolute recuperation and rest.

“I think we will see him probably early next year and then he will play the Masters. We will then rinse and repeat until August/September next year, and we will talk about Ryder Cup captaincies.

Ritchie continued: “He wants to be a playing captain. And then in October 2025, he will probably have ankle surgery or fuse something, and we will see him in March/April for the Masters in 2026, and he will probably then take the Ryder Cup captaincy. He will lose it. And then probably get ready for another surgery and then we will be looking at the Masters when he is 54 years old. When does it ever stop?”

Should Tiger Woods retire in 2025?

As much as golf fans don’t want to admit it, it feels as if the writing is on the wall for Tiger. Consistent injury setbacks appear to be causing endless issues, and it’s hard to envisage the 15-time major winner ever returning to a condition where he can compete regularly.

Woods should decide on his future after the 2025 season. If he can tee up in ten events and compete sporadically, perhaps there is scope for his PGA Tour career to continue.

Hopefully, his recent surgery will finally alleviate his woes and allow Woods to compete more frequently. Furthermore, the leg injury sustained after his car crash in 2021 will only have improved over time.

There’s no doubt the golfing world will know more about Woods’ fitness in the coming months.