Tiger Woods teases Masters comeback (plus 5 other reveals)

Tiger Woods made one thing pretty clear:

He wants to play the Masters.

There was plenty to discuss as Woods took to the podium ahead of this week’s Genesis Invitational. We’re used to these State-of-the-Tiger updates, which come biannually on Tuesday mornings ahead of the Hero World Challenge and Genesis Invitational, the two tournaments where Woods serves as host. The biggest reveal was expected to be something — anything — about the mysterious new schedule that Woods, Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and various stakeholders have been cooking up. We did hear about that; Woods was in a jovial mood and relatively forthright and we’ll break that down in a minute.

But there is still one show-stopping combination in golf: Tiger Woods and the Masters. And so, when Woods teased that

-He is “trying” to return to competitive golf

-He can hit full shots

and

-The Masters is not off the table

it was pretty easy to read between the lines. Woods’ grin when he confirmed that last bit told a fuller story. If he can get his body and his game ready, we can expect to see him at Augusta National.

We didn’t get official confirmation, of course. Woods will likely keep us waiting. But if he played it would be his first competitive start (not counting TGL) since the 2024 Open Championship. And it would put to the test his incredible, tournament-record streak of 24 consecutive Masters made cuts.

“It’s just one of those things where each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing, I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again,” he said.

Here’s what else we learned from Woods.

1. He’s considering the U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy.

Woods was in a lighthearted mood; he chuckled when longtime golf writer Geoff Shackelford mentioned his recent work as Jupiter Links captain and used that as a bridge into a question about his potential Ryder Cup captaincy.

“Good tie-in there. That was good,” Woods said.

But then he gave an earnest answer. In December Woods made it clear he hadn’t heard from the PGA of America on the role; now it’s clear he has.

“They have asked for my input on it and I haven’t made my decision yet,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what we’re trying to do with our tour. That’s been driving me hours upon hours every day — and [I’ve been] trying to figure out if I can actually do Team USA and our players and everyone that’s going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time.

“Serving on two boards and what I’m doing for the PGA Tour, I’m trying to figure out if I can actually do this and serve the people that are involved and serve them at an honorable level.”

Again, we’re reading between the lines a bit, but it sounds like Woods has been unofficially offered the role of U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 competition at Adare Manor in Ireland. The captaincy is a more taxing responsibility than it used to be, and Woods clearly takes that seriously. But the PGA of America also likes plenty of lead time for its captains, so Woods’ decision will be worth monitoring as his other responsibilities evolve in the coming months.

2. He’s considering the PGA Tour Champions.

Woods was asked how close he is to a potential return to competitive golf — either on the PGA Tour or the over-50 Champions circuit.

“Well, I’m trying, put it that way,” he said. That part is evergreen. But obstacles continue to mount; Woods’ most recent surgery was a lumbar disc replacement in October. He’s recovered from last year’s ruptured achilles but described his ongoing back issues as “challenging.”

Still, there’s at least one reason the older tour is appealing, now that he’s turned 50:

“Now I entered a new decade, so that number is starting to sink in and has [me] thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart. That’s something that, as I said, I won’t do out here on this tour because I don’t believe in it. But on the Champions Tour, there’s certainly that opportunity.”

3. There is a new Tour schedule coming. But maybe not all at once

Woods’ work as chairman of the Future Competition Committee sounds like it has been … taxing.

“I thought I spent a lot of hours practicing in my prime. It doesn’t even compare to what we’ve done in the boardroom,” he said with a laugh.

Woods talked about wanting to “make our tour better” and “make our product better” and “create the right competitive model” and the challenges of keeping various stakeholders happy in the process.

“I think it’s trying to serve literally everyone, from the player side of it, from our media partners, from all of our title sponsors, from the local communities or even changing venues and going to bigger markets,” he said.

He essentially confirmed reports that the Tour’s potential “improvements” include visiting bigger markets, shortening the season and making the many moving parts work together more efficiently. The Tour has telegraphed its intentions to own the summer — to own the NFL offseason would be another way to think about it — and Woods says a more targeted approach makes sense compared with the 10-plus months players would compete in his full-time playing days.

“It was just a different landscape than it is now,” he said.

As for timing, Woods said in December that he wasn’t sure how quickly the schedule could be revamped; there are still conflicting visions, existing contracts and a complex web of stakeholders. On Tuesday he admitted it may not be ready for 2027 but that some things will be different.

“We would like to have it happen in 2027. We may have to roll it out over a couple-year period,” he said. “We may not be able to implement all of it in 2027, but there will definitely be parts of it integrated or changed from what it is now in ’26 into ’27.”

Woods sung the praises of his fellow Policy Board members.

“I was hesitant that we were going to be in this position where we were going to work together like this and function at a level to make our product better. But everyone is. Everyone is trying to make the PGA Tour the best tour in the world,” he said.

4. Riviera could occupy a brand-new spot on the schedule

Among the most intriguing rumors around scheduling is a potential shift in the West Coast Swing. This year’s schedule features iconic venues Pebble Beach and Riviera back to back — but Pebble was soggy and Riviera is cold and wet.

Perhaps the dismal weather made it a particularly opportune time to ask Woods about the possibility of a shift to late summer.

“Well, I think that, one, you’re going to get weather not like this. That’s number one. We’re going to have perfect days. It’s always perfect in SoCal here in August,” he said. “So yes, we’re looking at things like that, looking to go to bigger markets later in the year for the playoffs. Just trying to make our competitive model better, and how do we do that. I think that is one of the options, with Genesis. That certainly is on the table.”

Directly following Woods’ presser he was joined by José Munoz, president and CEO of Genesis, who announced their partnership would be extended through 2030. Munoz added that the brand was on board with considering a potential date change.

“I think it is a possibility,” he said. “We’re very open-minded and willing to make things better.”

There are various moving parts, including the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the Olympic golf competitions at Riviera in 2028, but Woods suggested creative solutions are on the table.

“Whatever that looks like, whether it’s us staying here in southern California, whether it’s us staying here at this time and date or us moving to August or some other time, we’re looking at everything. It changes day-to-day, so if you ask me tomorrow, that might change,” he said.

5. Woods celebrated Anthony Kim’s comeback

Woods has been working full-time on the future of the PGA Tour, so it’s rare he’d talk much about LIV’s golf tournaments. But he was asked Tuesday about Anthony Kim, who completed an unlikely comeback with a win at LIV Adelaide over the weekend.

“He had so much natural talent. He could hit any shot he wanted,” Woods said, reflecting on a younger Kim. “Then to see him struggle in life and didn’t really want to play golf, didn’t really want to be part of golf, and for him to come all the way back and for him to win and to be as devoted as he is to his family, it’s a story in which you just have to wrap your heart around it because of the struggles.

“We can all relate to struggles. We all struggle in life. The longer it goes, the more tough times you’ve had. But for him to fight through it and for Anthony to get to where he’s gotten to, from the low that he was in, is something that, as I said, you have to just wrap your heart around it.”

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