Where will Tiger Woods play next? We’re getting some clues | News

Where will Tiger Woods play next?

If it seems like we’ve been asking some version of this question for over a decade, well, that’s because we have. Woods has been on a roll of surgery and recovery since 2014, with some of those surgeries going better than others.

This time is different, given the circumstances; in March Woods was involved in a rollover crash near his Jupiter Island home, spent time in inpatient treatment and later pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge, which resulted in a five-year suspension of his driver’s license.

Woods has been spotted a few different places since then. In June he spoke briefly as the PGA Tour announced its revamped schedule. In September he showed up at a Stanford football game and then appeared at the Nexus Cup, an event hosted in New Jersey. And in October he demonstrated at the TGR Jr. Invitational on the Monterey Peninsula in California. It’s hitting balls in the settings of the range-clinic. But he has not yet spoken about his absence or his possible comeback.

We haven’t seen Woods in a stroke-play event since the Open Championship in 2024. We’ll see him in just one TGL match in 2026. So where will we hear from him, how eager is he to make his competitive return, and when will we see him play?

Some clues lead us to this non-exhaustive list of possibilities:

Hero World Challenge (December 2026)

This is where we will see Woods next, and where we will also hear from him – he always gives a presser before the tournament at the Heroes in the Bahamas. It will be interesting how he chooses to share on all of the above (and all of the below).

There is still room for him to play; the Hero also has three “TBD” slots in his 20-player field. Count Kevin Kisner among those who think he will play. (More on Kisner in a minute.)

PNC Championship (December 2026)

This is another place we’ve seen a lot of Woods in recent chapters of his playing career; despite varying levels of health, he rallied to be with his son Charlie. The PNC has the benefit of only being twice, plus it’s a scramble. This will be his last chance at a win before Charlie finishes high school (he is a senior and committed to Florida St.) so maybe Tiger has circled in the calendar.

DATE (December 2026)

Enter in final announcements of the list for TGL — which includes Woods as part of the five-man Jupiter Links team — and enters Kisner, Woods’ former teammate, who said he was told Woods “wants to play.”

“Rob (McNamara), the Tiger guy, wrote me a long text last week, I think,” Kisner he said on the ‘Fore Play’ podcast last week. “They just told me what they did about their decisions, how they moved and what the players had to do, and that Tiger wanted to play a full schedule…”

A complete calendar! If you want to see Tiger, TGL seems like your best bet. As for Kisner’s full Tiger-related prediction?

“He has to play both,” he said. “He can’t have any more injuries. The way he moved and moved on the range, I mean, the guy likes to compete. Come back, get your feet wet at the Hero, play with Charlie in Father/Son, play a little TGL, get ready for Augusta.”

Genesis Invitational (February 2027)

This feels like a longshot, but it’s worth mentioning because, like at Heroes, Woods serves as host. The Genesis is also the only non-major PGA Tour event that Woods has played in the past five years; in 2023 he finished T45 and in 2024 he retired with an illness.

Masters (April 2026)

If he plays competitive golf anywhere, it will be here. Before the incident in March, Woods was preparing to make a run at the Masters – everything we’ve seen from his playing career suggests that preparing for Augusta National will be his top priority.

Insperity Invitational (April 2026)

Here’s where we’re going to do some connecting of the dots. Woods turns 51 in December; 2026 was the year he was expected to make his debut on the PGA Tour Champions. That obviously never happened. But if there’s one Champs event that makes the most sense, it’s this one. Woods quietly signed an endorsement deal with Insperity in 2025. Insperity then appeared as a Jupiter Links sponsor. Its Pebble Beach event is officially titled The Tiger Woods Invitational presented by Insperity. And when the 2027 PGA Tour Champions schedule was released, it included “The Insperity” at The Woodlands in Texas.

It seems as likely a debut spot for Woods as any.

US Open (June 2026)

Golf’s most brutal test doesn’t seem like a logical place for Woods to take his talents — nor his fused spine — but this year’s tournament is at Pebble Beach, which certainly makes it more likely. Pebble is iconic. It is also the site of one of Woods’ greatest triumphs, plus many other heroics. And it’s a slightly shorter and more precise test than some of its stronger counterparts on the US Open schedule. (If this was at Winged Foot, we’d feel less safe.)

US Senior Open (July 2026)

Woods has conquered USGA events at every level, from the US Junior to the US Am to the US Open, which leaves exactly one championship in his sights. Woods had registered for the 2026 edition before his last matches. Now let’s see when he will make his debut.

A higher one at the USGA defeated the appearance of Woods at the 2028 edition at Crooked Stick, but it is also plausible that we will see him in 2027 at Oak Tree National in Edmond, Okla.

“There have only been two people in the history of our game who have won the US Amateur, the US Open and the US Senior Open: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA Chief Championships Officer. “Tiger won the Am and the Open; he also won the Junior Am. He would be the only one to ever do that. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s important to Tiger, and I look forward to him being here at Crooked Stick.”

Open Championship (July 2026)

The Open 2027 is on the Old Course at St. Andrews, which Woods has long cited as his favorite course in the world. I wrote above that if there’s one place Woods would flock to play, it would be Augusta National – but the same could be said for a return visit there. When Woods missed the cut in 2022 he wondered if he would return.

“I feel like I’ll be able to play in future British Opens, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to play long enough when I get back here,” he said.

You may even wonder. It’s us too.

“>