March 24 (UPI) — Tiger Woods will end a 13-month hiatus from competitive golf and play in Tuesday night’s TGL Finals, the 15-time major champion confirmed.
Woods announced the decision Monday night through a simple statement issued through the league, which he co-founded: “I’m back.”
TGL is a tech‑infused, arena‑based golf league created by Woods and Rory McIlroy in partnership with the PGA Tour, featuring teams of PGA Tour players competing in fast, two‑hour, partially simulated matches.
Woods will join Jupiter Links Golf Club teammates Max Homa and Tom Kim when they take on Los Angeles Golf Club on Tuesday at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
LAGC, which includes Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala, beat JLGC 6-5 in Match 1 of the TGL Finals on Monday at SoFi Center. Match 2 will be held there at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
Match 3, if necessary, will be held at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The action will air on ESPN.
Woods played a coach/manager role for Homa, Kim and Kevin Kisner during the opening match. LAGC captain Collin Morikawa did not play because of a back injury.
“We had our opportunities and they had their opportunities,” Woods told TGLGolf.com, when asked about the opening match. “We could have flipped it in the middle of [singles] and it came down to the last hole. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but we have, possibly, two more matches.
“We’re not out of this. Even with a loss [Monday], we’re still not out of this.”
The 50-year-old golfer hasn’t played in an official event since the 2024 British Open due to back and Achilles issues. Woods, who underwent disc replacement surgery on his back in October, said “no” last month, when asked if the Masters Tournament was “off the table” for him to play this year.
He said Monday that he’s “been working on it,” when asked if he will participate in Masters. The first major championship of the golf season will be held April 9 to 12 in Augusta, Ga.
“I said I’ve been working on it,” Woods said. “Sometimes, I have good days. Sometimes, I have bad days. A disc replacement is not a lot of fun. … It takes time. I’ve had a lot of procedures prior to that.
“My body doesn’t quite heel like it did when I was 24. It doesn’t quite bounce back. I have good days when I can pretty much do anything and other days where it’s hard to just move around.”
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