Tiger Woods turns 50: Will he continue playing on the PGA Tour or take a back seat?

Tiger Woods turns 50 this Tuesday. Looking at his battered body after countless surgeries (the latest last October, his seventh back operation, from which he is still recovering), his overflowing trophy cabinet with 15 majors, his more-than-full bank account, a son trying to make his way in the world of golf, and a host of businesses and projects on the table, logic suggests that the man will celebrate this penultimate day of 2025 enjoying the pleasures of life, surrounded by family and friends by a Christmas fireplace. And, of course, without training. And yes, that would be the case for anyone except Tiger, who turns 50 while once again chasing a sporting comeback that defies reason.

Turning 50 opens the door to the senior circuit, the Champions Tour, a competition that allows tournaments to be played in a more relaxed format (three days, 54 holes instead of four, with the option of using a buggy on the course) while keeping alive the competitive flame of old times. In that arena move historic figures such as Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Thomas Bjorn, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Chema Olazábal, Ángel Cabrera, Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink… And that league is waiting for Tiger with open arms — except Tiger isn’t so sure. Deep down, this rusty champion still wants to compete with the young players, play more majors, and who knows, maybe fight for another Masters at Augusta.

“I’d like to come back to just playing golf again,” Woods said in early December when he acted as host at the Hero World Challenge — his cap hiding his balding head, a tired smile from answering the same questions over and over, and a gaze still sharp. “Let me do that, and then I’ll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be,” he said. “It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things on and off the golf course that’s been tough.” When asked if he would play the Champions Tour, he replied: “I don’t know. I need time to figure things out with my back and my body. [...] I’m a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level.”

From a sporting standpoint, Tiger Woods today is only a shadow of what he once was. You have to scroll down to around No. 2,500 in the world rankings to find his name, the lowest position of his career since he first entered the list in 1994 — a ranking he led for 683 weeks, more than double the tally of the man in second place (Greg Norman, 331).

His competitive appearances in recent years have been few and far between: none in 2021, three in 2022, three in 2023, five in 2024, and none again in 2025. Woods has not teed it up since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship, a season in which he also failed to make the weekend at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, and in which he finished the Masters at 16 over par — his worst result there, despite setting the record at the time for 24 consecutive cuts made.

For better or worse, the Tiger Woods of businessman, executive, and father now outweighs the Tiger Woods of golfer. Alongside Rory McIlroy, he founded TGL (Tomorrow Golf League), a competition that blends real and virtual golf, giant screens, and a physical green, and is played by teams inside an arena in Florida. It is designed to hook younger fans who grow bored with traditional golf rounds lasting more than five hours, weighed down by slow play.

That same issue is at the heart of another of his new roles: president of a committee created last August by the PGA Tour to drive a new calendar and structure for the U.S. circuit — in short, to rethink the product and make it more attractive, with more selective tournaments and all the stars in attendance.

“The PGA Tour gave me an opportunity to chase after a childhood dream,” he said. “I got a chance to hit my first ball in my first PGA Tour event when I was 16 years old. I’ve been involved with the PGA Tour ever since then. Now I am able to make an impact in a different way for other generations to come. Not just generations that I played against, but for future generations.”

And finally, the big question: will he be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain? The American team needs a figure to rally around after the crushing defeat to Europe in the recent New York edition. Keegan Bradley, who was in charge then, appears to be on borrowed time, and no one like Tiger combines the charisma and authority needed to restore belief to a wounded squad. For now, it is not publicly known whether the PGA has offered Tiger the role, nor what his plans would be if that call comes ahead of Ireland 2027, the centennial edition. What no one doubts is that he would be the best possible captain.

As if all that weren’t enough, Tiger is also overseeing the training of his son Charlie, who at 16 is progressing in his amateur career under the enormous weight of his surname. Woods has also not escaped the celebrity press because of his relationship with Vanessa Trump, the former wife of the eldest son of the President of the United States. And so he turns 50 today, recovering from a disc replacement — his seventh back surgery after another half dozen operations on his knee and that traffic accident that nearly killed him. And, of course, thinking about training and about yet another comeback. Impossible?

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