Tiger Woods Reveals Progress After Undergoing 7th Back Surgery

No one moves the needle in his respective sport quite like how Tiger Woods does in golf. So, whenever the 15-time major winner speaks, people listen. That’s in regard to a number of topics, from the PGA Tour to still chasing Jack Nicklaus’ major record to LIV Golf to his own personal health.

The last of those has been a topic of conversation for much of the last dozen years. Woods is currently sidelined after undergoing what’s believed to be his seventh back surgery on Oct. 10, 2025. That came while he was already rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon in March 2025. Add in that he just turned 50 years old last month, and there are several roadblocks in Woods’ way regarding a return to golf.

On Tuesday, Woods discussed where he is at physically and shared some news about his progress with his latest comeback attempt.

“I’ve been cleared to hit, basically. Hit short irons and mid irons. I haven’t gone any beyond that,” Woods told ESPN during a broadcast of Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), which he co-founded alongside Rory McIlroy. TGL combines both traditional golf play with simulated indoor golf.

Woods owns Jupiter Links Golf Club, which was competing on Tuesday while Woods made his comments. However, even with simulated golf, Woods can’t yet participate, as it involves something he can’t yet do, and that’s driving the ball.

“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,” continued Woods. “So, I’m gonna be pretty rusty, and so, there’s a lot that goes into it. 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,” he added.

Woods last played competitively at the 2024 Open Championship in July of that year, in which he missed the cut. Since a February 2021 car crash, Woods has played in just 11 official events, and due to missed cuts and withdrawals, he’s only played all four rounds in five of those tournaments. His best finish was 18th place at the 2023 Hero World Challenge, a tournament he hosts that has a limited 20-golfer field.

As Woods mentioned, he is now 50, and that makes him eligible to compete on the PGA Tour Champions circuit. That tour offers several accommodations, considering the advanced ages of its golfers, such as the use of driving carts and shorter, three-day tournaments. However, Woods has yet to comment on whether he has any interest in competing on the PGA Tour Champions, though the tour would certainly welcome him with open arms considering his drawing power.

Woods did, however, comment on the impending return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour after he decided to leave LIV Golf. Koepka, a five-time major winner, was one of the biggest names to defect to the rival golf league—but is now back to where he achieved most of his fame.

“It’s incredible for all the fans,” Woods said of Koepka rejoining the PGA Tour. “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.”

Woods is part of the PGA Tour policy board, and the program he mentioned is forcing Koepka to undergo severe financial penalties to rejoin the tour. Some of these include him forfeiting any player equity shares for the next five years, making a $5 million donation to charity, and not being eligible for sponsor exemptions in any PGA Tour signature events this season.

Koepka rejoining the PGA Tour means that three of the four active golfers with the most major championship victories are now on the tour. Woods leads the way with 15, and while Phil Mickelson (six wins) is still with LIV Golf, behind him are Koepka and McIlroy, who each have five majors.

Speaking of Mickelson, Woods can look toward him to see what’s possible for a golfer on the latter side of 50. It was at the 2021 PGA Championship that Mickelson, who was three weeks shy of turning 51, became the oldest major championship winner in history.

Woods still has Nicklaus’s record of 18 major championships as his main goal in golf—as unrealistic as that may be. So, the former’s longtime rival adding a major to his name with half a century under his belt could provide a bit of extra motivation for Woods in his latest return to golf.