Tiger Woods is able to swing a few clubs now, but don’t expect to see the 15-time major winner back anytime soon.
The 50-year-old-Woods told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt before his Jupiter Links GC fell 8-3 in its TGL match against New York GC on Tuesday that he is cleared to swing a select few of his clubs. He is a co-owner and player for the Jupiter Links squad.
“I’ve been cleared to hit, basically, hit short irons and mid irons,” said Woods, who underwent his seventh back surgery in the fall. “I haven’t gone any beyond that.”
Woods said he has realistic expectations whenever he is able to return to action.
“Whenever that time comes, when I start hitting drivers, and I start playing at home, and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half, so I’m gonna be pretty rusty.
“And so, there’s a lot that goes into it,” added Woods, who interestingly is now eligible to also play in the PGA Tour Champions now that he’s 50. ” My prep is gonna have to be a little bit different from my other procedures I’ve had in the past. I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess, because I’m 50. And that happens.”
Woods, who is in danger of falling out of the World Golf Rankings because of a lack of events, hasn’t played a full four rounds of professional golf since the 2024 Masters.
The golf icon, who is tied with Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour wins all-time at 82, also weighed in on Brooks Koepka’s return to the Tour after he defected for LIV Golf the past three seasons.
“I think it’s incredible for the tour,” said Woods, who — according to the Daily Mail — will be having a lavish bash celebrating his 50th birthday, which was on Dec. 30, on Wednesday night. “It’s incredible for all the fans and the fan initiative program that we did last year, what they wanted. They want to see the best play against the best.
“And for Brooks to want to come back a year early, and he was able to do that, and we worked through Christmas, and through their part of the year, with both boards, all the player directors, other players as well, to make sure that this is right.”
Woods said he believes Koepka, who agreed to “a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program, can return to the top of the Tour if he plays well.
Koepka will also have to play well to get into the player-hosted Signature Events and will miss out on FedEx Cup bonuses for the 2026 season.
“‘I know, there’s some punitive damages there. It’s a meritocracy,” Woods said. “And he is gonna be playing full field events, and he has the ability to earn his way up to the signature events.
“If he’s good, he’s good. [If] He plays great, [he] plays great. [If he] wins tournaments, [he] wins tournaments. There’s no reason why we should hold him back.”
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith also were offered a chance to return to the PGA Tour because they met the requirements of the Returning Member Program, which new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp outlined in a memo Monday that opened the door to Koepka’s return, but the three stars said they will be playing for LIV Golf this season.
