Tiger Woods is not playing in this week’s Hero World Challenge, an unofficial tournament he is hosting in the Bahamas.
But the 15-time major champion will still be involved in the event, and met the media on Tuesday during a pre-tournament news conference. It was Woods’ first meeting with reporters since missing out on the Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland in July.
Woods spoke on a number of topics, including his health, his potential playing plan for 2025, golfers being compensated to compete in the upcoming Ryder Cup and the PGA Tour’s ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The life of a tiger
Woods is not part of the 20-man field to compete this week at Albany golf club. Last year, Woods returned from more than seven months off work to finish tied for 18th, 20 strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler.
In 2023, Tiger was returning from surgery to deal with painful arthritis in his right foot and ankle, which was caused by injuries sustained in a car accident in February 2021.
This time, he is recovering from microdecompression surgery in September to relieve the pain of nerve interference in his lower back.
“I’m not physically ready to compete at this level,” Woods said. “The times I came back here, I was ready to start competing and playing again. Unfortunately, not this time. I still need to continue training to give myself a good chance going into next year and future events.”
Woods, 48, did not say Tuesday when he plans to return to competitive play, saying, “I really don’t know.”
He was previously competing with his son, Charlie, in the PNC tournament, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, in two weeks. In that event, Tiger will be able to use a cart.
Otherwise, golf fans may not see Woods play again until the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts on Feb. 13-16 at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles, or the Masters, the first major of the season, April 10-13 at Augusta National Golf. The club.
Woods said his back condition has caused him leg pain that has gotten worse this past season. He made just five starts on tour in 2024. He missed three times and withdrew from the Genesis Invitational due to illness.
“I had to throw [the season] I left, and I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be and I didn’t play as well as I needed to for the big tournament, and I didn’t play well in it,” Woods said. “Hopefully, next year will be better. I will become physically stronger and better. I know this process has helped, and I hope I can build on that.”
Since Woods has had multiple surgeries in the past, he could have had a long recovery this time around.
“I know what to expect coming out of it,” Woods said. “The relief I had, I didn’t have spasms, I didn’t have nerve pains, so that was nice. But I also understood that I still have a long way to rehabilitate and recover. I wish I didn’t know this, but I know myself very well and I know the process, I know how long it will take.
“We will continue to do all the exercises and continue to do all the routines, and eventually it will lead to something where I can compete again.”
A possible deal for the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund
It’s been almost a year since the PGA Tour’s framework agreement with the DP World Tour and PIF expired in Dec. 31, 2023.
There have been signs of progress in recent months, including a well-publicized meeting between the sides in New York in September, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan playing golf with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship pro. – early October.
As a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board and vice chairman of the PGA Tour Enterprises board, Woods has been involved in discussions with the PIF regarding a potential investment of more than $1 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises, the tour’s profit arm.
On Tuesday, Woods revealed that an agreement had not yet been reached, admitting that “all of us who were a part of this process thought it would happen sooner than this.”
Woods acknowledged that any agreement between the parties would be subject to intense scrutiny by the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. It may be reviewed by antitrust regulators in Europe as well.
“Even if we get an agreement right now, it’s in the hands of the DOJ, but we wish there was something more concrete and ongoing than what we have now,” Woods said. “But things are changing a lot, we’re still working on it, it’s happening every day. From a policy board perspective or from an Enterprise perspective, things are moving and building. But yes, they are definitely moving.”
While the sides appear to be in agreement on many issues, sources told ESPN on Tuesday that the golf club’s position on the future of the sport and how LIV golfers will return to the PGA Tour are still up in the air.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that the PIF had separate discussions with the DP World Tour about a partnership that would give LIV Golfers access to DP World Tour events. In exchange, PIF will invest in European travel.
“This has been a very difficult time in the game of golf,” Woods said. “I think a lot of it has been a distraction from the beauty of the game of golf, and obviously we’re trying to consolidate that and give the fans the best experience we know we can give them.”
At the same news conference on Tuesday, Pawan Munjal, CEO of Hero MotoCorp, which sponsors the Woods tournament in the Bahamas, expressed frustration that the parties had not reached an agreement.
“Simply put, the game doesn’t benefit, the players don’t benefit,” said Munjal. “Perhaps there are those who are on the move, it should be possible for everyone to come back together, the game can continue, the players can continue, the sponsors can continue. a way of looking at the future. The future is uncertain, which is not a good thing.”
Ryder Cup compensation
Last month, the Telegraph of London reported that American golfers will be paid $400,000 to compete in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park in New York in September 2025.
The PGA of America is currently giving each American golfer $200,000 to distribute to their favorite charity. The Telegraph did not say whether the $400,000 would go to the players or charities.
Woods participated in similar discussions with the PGA of America prior to the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Woods said he would have no problem with golfers being paid to compete in the Ryder Cup, as long as the money goes to charity.
“We didn’t want to be paid [in 1999]we wanted to give more money to charity, and the media turned on us and said we wanted to be paid,” Woods said. “No, the Ryder Cup itself makes so much money, why can’t we give it away. different charities? And what’s wrong with each player, 12 players getting a million dollars and the ability to split the amazing charities they’re involved in that they can help?
“It’s their hometowns, where they’re from, all the different small golf organizations or initiatives that the members are involved in. It’s never about earning; how can we raise money to help the sport or help the things we believe in. at home, because it’s very difficult to get into that group, there are only 12 guys What wrong about being able to allocate more money?”
Following the Telegraph’s report, European captain Luke Donald has discussed with many of his team’s golfers whether they should be paid. Rory McIlroy said it was agreed that the money be returned to the DP World Tour.
“It’s one week where you play more than yourself,” Donald told the Telegraph. “It’s not about money or points, it’s about coming together as a team and the fans feed off that — it’s all about love. I don’t think we should be paid.”
Despite the European team’s feelings about the compensation, Woods said he hopes American golfers will get $5 million each and donate it to the organization.
“Okay, it’s their right to say that,” Woods said. “I just think the event is so big that I think we can give a lot of money to charities, and I’ve said that since ’99 when we had the Brookline talks. If the Europeans want to pay to be at the Ryder Cup, that’s their decision to do that, it’s their team that I know if it’s on European soil that it’s sponsoring most of their tours, so it’s a major European Tour event, and if they want to pay to play on it, so be it.”
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