Tiger Woods won’t be back on the golf course anytime soon.
Woods announced Tuesday on social media that, while training and practicing at home recently in an effort to return to the PGA Tour this season, he ruptured his left Achilles. He underwent surgery on Tuesday and is now recovering.
As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured.
This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon… pic.twitter.com/KAVZfcRxlE
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 11, 2025
“As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” Woods wrote, in part.
“I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you all for the support.”
It’s unclear how long Woods will be sidelined. He has not played on the PGA Tour yet this year. He was set to make his season debut at The Genesis Invitational last month, which is a tournament he hosts each year, but withdrew shortly after the death of his mother. Woods has competed with his team in TGL events in Florida.
What’s next for Tiger Woods?
With Woods now sidelined with another major injury, it’s unclear what is next for him in competitive golf.
Woods is already one of the best golfers in the history of the sport. He’s won on tour 82 times, which matches Sam Snead’s all-time record, and he’s won 15 major championships. That trails only Jack Nicklaus, who won a record 18 in his career.
But Woods has struggled with various injuries in recent years. He’s undergone several major back surgeries, and he nearly lost his right leg after he was in a car crash in Southern California in 2021.
The combination of those injuries has led to Woods cutting his playing schedule significantly. He has said repeatedly that his new goal was to play in the four major championships each season, and perhaps an additional event or two along the way. Woods missed the cut at three of the four majors last season, and finished in 60th at the Masters. He also withdrew from The Genesis Invitational early after getting sick that season.
Woods has actually only finished three of his last 13 Tour events dating back to 2020. He’s either missed the cut or withdrawn from the other 10.
In the short term, Woods almost certainly won’t try to play again on Tour this season. The Masters next month is off the table, and Woods will likely need four to six months to recover at a minimum. That leaves next season’s Genesis Invitational as the most realistic return spot for Woods — outside of his Hero World Challenge, the parent-child PNC Championship or other unofficial Tour events that he sometimes plays in. Woods’ TGL team missed the playoffs, too, so he won’t need to play there either.
Big picture, though, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Woods will attempt to legitimately compete on the PGA Tour even in the limited capacity that he’s been doing for the last several years. He’s frequently said that the biggest issue for him is simply walking the course for four straight days due to his leg and back injuries. Coming back from an Achilles injury at 49 certainly isn’t going to make that any easier.
