Tiger Woods made his return to competition on Tuesday at the TGL Finals, where Jupiter Links GC fell to Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center. The 50-year-old was making his season debut following lumbar disk replacement surgery in October and a procedure to repair a ruptured left Achilles last March.
It marked Woods’ first competitive appearance since the 2024 The Open Championship at Royal Troon. Ahead of the match, Woods shared a warm embrace with Vanessa Trump, who was in attendance with her daughter, Kai Trump.
Both watched from the stands as Woods competed in the triples portion alongside Max Homa and Tom Kim in the TGL’s indoor format, which features nine holes of team play before singles matches. Los Angeles Golf Club clinched the best-of-three finals in two matches.
Following the loss, Woods opened up about his recovery and his hopes of returning for next month’s Masters Tournament. “I’ve been trying. Just this body is – it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying,” Woods said.
The golf legend added, “I’ve been trying for a while. I’ve had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I’ve had to fight through, and it’s taken some time. But I keep trying. I want to play. I love the tournament. I’ve loved being there since I was 19 years old. It’s meant a lot to me and my family over the years. I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that’s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner.”
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Tiger Woods emphasized that no final decision has been made regarding his return, adding that he will continue working toward full fitness in the coming days. “I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll be practicing playing at home this week and keep trying to make progress.”
Vanessa Trump and Kai Trump have been a consistent presence alongside Woods in recent months, including at the Genesis Invitational earlier this year, as they continue to support him during his recovery.
Tiger Woods Delivers Mixed Performance In Limited Role
Tiger Woods’ performance in the finals reflected inconsistency during his limited time on the course. He missed putts from 25, 44, and 22 feet, along with a short attempt from three feet.
Several approach shots left him with long-range opportunities, including one putt from 42 feet. However, he also produced some effective shots. Woods drove the ball 318 yards into the fairway and later hit a 3-wood from 281 yards that also found the fairway.
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He even chipped one shot to within three feet but did not convert. Meanwhile, Woods did not play in the singles portion, as Jupiter Links GC lost the finals in two matches.
