Tiger Woods has always relished keeping others in the dark on what he’s planning to do. It makes perfect sense that his 155-foot yacht is named “Privacy.”
There was no hint the 15-time major winner was going to play in this week’s Genesis Invitational—moved from Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades because of the wildfire disasters that engulfed the surrounding area.
The event was rescheduled for this week at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Woods waited until the last moment before signaling a desire to tee it up. Once again, standard operating procedure for Woods.
What’s confusing is that Woods’s mother—Kultida—passed away on Feb. 4 at age 78. Woods stated on Feb. 8 that he would play in the Genesis tournament.
Then Woods bailed out Monday, saying he was doing so because of his mom’s passing. If that was the issue, why opt to play in the event just four days later?
Woods has played in a variety of exhibitions, with son Charlie in the PNC Championship in Orlando last December and twice in TGL events in Florida. Neither of those situations is remotely close to elite level play on the PGA Tour.
Woods played just five events in 2025 and was nowhere near demonstrating the form needed for such top-tier competitions. He did play 72 holes at the Masters but finished 60th with missed cuts at the other three majors.
Woods had micro-decompression surgery on the lumbar spine to relieve back pain in mid-September, which is believed to be his sixth back procedure in the past 10 years.
If he had played at the Genesis this week it would have been his first active competition since last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland. Woods has won eight times at Torrey Pines—including his epic victory at the 2008 U.S. Open achieved on a broken leg.
However, there’s an undeniable record of complete irrelevance in the most competitive arenas. Woods has not won an event since the 2019 Masters. To show some sort of meaningful progression, one has to show scores that are at least trending in a positive direction.
Woods turned 49 at the end of December and to use an apt expression, his tires have plenty of miles on them.
Woods’s golf swing has also clearly changed. When he came onto the PGA Tour in 1997 his body was lean, lithe and demonstrated an amazing fast-turning hip action that produced remarkable results.
Then his body began to break down.
Given all the surgeries Woods has undergone, his swing method is more about upper body strength with his lower body frozen out of the process.
But there are other weaknesses.
His driving skills remain a vexing sore point—even when he was in top form. Woods now uses a modified swing in which a left-to-right ball flight is his only go-to shot with the driver. When teeing off on par-4 and par-5 holes, if other options are available, Woods frequently uses a club other than the driver.
If one cannot consistently find the fairway with sufficient distance, scoring becomes much more difficult. The Woods of 2025 is not the same player who brilliantly and methodically won the ‘06 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool when using the driver sparingly.
The deft short game from years past is now inconsistent. And his much-vaunted putting stroke is prone to peaks and valleys with less of the former and more of the latter.
In sum, he’s unable to summon the magnificent consistency that he routinely demonstrated in the most pressure-packed moments.
Not all golfers age well. The tremendous staying power of a golfer like Bernhard Langer is more of an aberration than a reality for most who reach 50 and beyond.
Woods has publicly acknowledged he is nowhere near the form of today’s elite players. He has also stated that he plans to remain on the sidelines until he believes he is.
Given Woods’s limited competitive rounds and less active practice time, it’s nearly impossible to believe he can compete seriously.
Woods is attempting one final push before likely opting to play on the Champions Tour when turning 50. The advantage there is twofold—players can take power carts and many of the tournaments are just 54 holes. That means less strain on his compromised walking ability.
No longer being competitive is no small issue for athletes—particularly those who dominated their sport so completely.
One of the greatest attributes Woods showed throughout his career was an inner self-belief. A resolute stubbornness. Getting through the most difficult of moments. Now Father Time is at hand and the ice-cold reality of losing his ability to compete is already clear to others. Generally, the last person to admit the reality is the athlete himself.
Woods has always relished pushing back against his detractors. Nothing would delight him more than one final triumph.
Go into the jungle and only the strong survive. During his peak years it was Woods stalking prey and delivering the crushing blows. Winning was never enough. Thoroughly vanquishing them was his calling card. By 12 strokes at Augusta in 1997; 15 at the U.S. Open in 2000; and eight at The Open, also in 2000.
Bill Parcells, the Hall of Fame NFL coach, said it succinctly regarding the performance of athletes: “You are what your record says you are.”
The Masters is now less than eight weeks away. Woods is a five-time winner of the green jacket, and returning to play at Augusta is undoubtedly on his agenda.
When Woods marched up his 72nd hole last year, the round ended on a sour note—a five-over-par 77.
Without sharp teeth and claws, you are no longer the hunter, but the one being hunted.
Can Tiger secure a return to glory?
If past is prologue—it’s hard to envision how.
