The biggest name in all of golf won’t be a part of the biggest golf tournament in the world come April at Augusta National. That’s because 15-time major winner, and five-time Masters champion, Tiger Woods, will miss the first major of the year after tearing his Achilles’ tendon. Woods underwent surgery to repair it on Tuesday, and he will be out indefinitely during his recovery.
Woods broke the news on social media shortly after the surgery on Tuesday afternoon.
“This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. ‘The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,’ added Dr. Stucken.
“I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.”
This is the latest setback in what’s already been a rough start to 2025 for Woods. His mother, Kultida Woods, passed away on Feb. 4, which came nine days before Woods was expected to make his season debut on the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational. Woods had entered his name into the field for the event. However, he would ultimately withdraw just three days before the event was set to tee off, as he said he wasn’t ready and was still processing his mother’s death.
The Genesis Invitational is hosted by Woods’ charity, the Tiger Woods Foundation, and it was forced to relocate from Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles to Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego due to the wildfires affecting Southern California.
Thus, Woods hasn’t competed on the PGA Tour since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship last July. He has competed in four of the five TGL matches for his Jupiter Links Golf Club team but they failed to make the TGL postseason, so his TGL season is already over.
Woods is no stranger to injuries or surgeries, and he last underwent an operation in September 2024 for back pain. He also infamously nearly lost his leg in a February 2021 car crash that required multiple operations. Since that accident, Woods has competed in 11 PGA Tour events, with eight of those being majors, including three Masters Tournaments. Due to various withdrawals and missed cuts, Woods has played all four rounds in just four of those 11 tournaments.
Since making his Masters debut as an amateur in 1995, Woods has competed in 26 of the 30 Masters events. He missed the major in 2014, 2016 and 2017 due to recovering from back operations or back pain, and missed it again in 2021 after the car crash. Last year at the event, Woods set the all-time record for most made cuts (24) at the Masters over a career, breaking a tie he held with Fred Couples and Gary Player.
However, that was the lone bright spot for his last appearance at Augusta National Golf Club as Woods shot a 10-over 82 in the third round, which was his highest score in a round ever in a major championship. He finished the 2024 Masters with a 72-hole total of 304, which is not only his highest score at the Masters, and not only his highest score at any major but it’s the highest score he’s shot at any professional tournament.
Woods owns five Green Jackets, last winning the event in 2019, which remains his last major victory and second-to-last PGA Tour win. He also won in 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2005 as his five victories trail only Jack Nicklaus’ six for most all-time.
There is a bit of precedent that Woods could follow regarding golfers returning from torn Achilles’ tendons, even though not all injuries, and subsequent surgeries, are the same. Two-time Masters champion, Bernhard Langer, tore his Achilles in February 2024, which forced him to miss the 2024 Masters just a few weeks later. Langer, who competes on the Senior PGA Tour, was 66 years old at the time, while Woods is 49.
Langer also had surgery and managed to return to competition just three months later, although he was able to use a cart to compete at the Insperity Invitational. Nine months after the injury in November 2024, the now-67-year-old Langer won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the Senior Tour, again with use of a cart. Then, just one month later, Langer and his son, Jason, defeated Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, in a playoff to win the PNC Championship. Langer used a cart for the two-day event, while Woods did not, but the former World No. 1 can use Langer as a source of inspiration going forward.
