Tiger Woods listed as 2026 Masters participant amid uncertainty of golf return

Tiger Woods, whose last competitive PGA Tour start was the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon in July 2024, has yet to officially reveal his plans for the 2026 Masters at Augusta National. The Masters website might have revealed his status when it unveiled the invitees list for the first major of the season.

Woods, the five-time Masters champion, is on the invitees list. Click on his name and it brings you to a summary of his career profile. There, the first sentence states the following: “Tiger Woods is making his 27th Masters start in 2026.”

Again, Woods has yet to publicly announce if he will be competing in the Masters April 9-12. Earlier this week, he spoke to reporters following the TGL semifinals and remained mum about his playing status.

“I said I’ve been working on it,” Woods said, via Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated. “Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun. So Will Zalatoris went through it, he had two levels done, and it takes time. So as I said, I’ve had a lot of procedures prior to that, so the body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn’t quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it’s hard to just to move around.”

Tiger Woods inching closer to golf comeback?

Woods, 50, ruptured his left Achilles last month after training and practicing at his home. He underwent lumbar disk replacement surgery in October.

The 15-time major champion did not participate in a single event during the 2025 season. He made five starts in 2024, missing the cut in three majors and withdrawing due to illness during the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.

Woods has not played in any of the five TGL matches for his Jupiter Links team this season. Jupiter Links is set to face Los Angeles Golf Club in the TGL finals this coming Monday. Woods indicated the lineup of Max Homa, Tom Kim, and Akshay Bhatia would remain the same against Los Angeles.

“I think that I have been trying to play each and every one of these matches,” Woods said. “I’ve been trying to come back. But it just hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve had a bad run of injuries last year. I think it’s been a year and a few days since I blew out my Achilles. And so then I’ve had two back operations. So it’s been a little rough go.

“But the guys here, this team, we have so much fun, I really don’t want to screw up the lineup. I just want these guys to keep playing.”