Tiger Woods hasn’t performed a full PGA Tour schedule in years. The final time he teed up greater than ten occasions in a season was in 2019, the identical yr he shocked the world by successful the Masters. Since then, accidents and surgical procedures have stored him totally on the sidelines, and after his critical automotive crash in 2021, his return to common competitors has felt extra like a dream than a plan.
Followers preserve ready for yet one more full run – a remaining stretch the place Tiger appears to be like like Tiger once more. However that hope is fading. On Barstool Sports activities’ Fore Play podcast, golf analysts Trent Ryan, Frankie Borrelli, and Sam Riggs Bozoian did not maintain again. They consider Woods may by no means announce an actual retirement – as a substitute, simply fade away quietly.
Tiger Woods’ legendary caddie used to verify the wind by smoking a cigarette
“I feel we’re residing in a wishy-washy Tiger Woods world,”Ryan mentioned. “He’ll at all times depart the door open, saying ‘perhaps I am going to play,’ till he is 75.”
Woods turns 50 quickly, and his physique has taken a beating. He is had six again surgical procedures, 4 knee operations, and most lately, a ruptured Achilles tendon that required surgical procedure in March 2025. Despite the fact that he was noticed hitting balls at Liberty Nationwide earlier than the Nexus Cup, it is clear that strolling 72 holes is now an actual problem.
A legend trapped between delight and ache
Frankie Borrelli did not mince phrases both. “The man can barely stroll,” he mentioned. “It is exhausting for everybody round him.”
That actuality has proven itself greater than as soon as. On the 2024 Masters, Woods limped by the early rounds earlier than bowing out. He additionally withdrew from each the 2022 PGA Championship and the 2024 Genesis Invitational, unable to complete what he began.
Even his friends have began to talk up. Colin Montgomerie instructed The Instances it is “previous time” for Tiger to step away, noting that the spark simply is not there anymore. And Paul McGinley of Sky Sports activities identified that Woods has had just one top-10 end in 19 begins since his accident – a quantity that tells its personal story.
Nonetheless, Tiger hasn’t given up. “I am going to play so long as I can play and I really feel like I can nonetheless win,” he is mentioned earlier than – and that defiance is what retains followers believing. Gamers like Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, and Fred Funk all gained previous 50, proving it is potential.
However Woods’s identify wasn’t listed within the first area announcement for the 2025 Hero World Problem – the occasion he hosts. With three open spots left, there is a small probability he’ll seem. Nonetheless, the silence surrounding his future has followers and analysts questioning if that is the start of the top.
And perhaps that is what hurts most. The concept the best golfer of his technology may stroll away with out ever saying goodbye.
