50-Year-Old Tiger Woods Gets Real on Health Struggles After TGL Finals Return

Tiger Woods returned to golf action on Tuesday and played in the TGL for the first time in over a year as his team took on the Los Angeles Golf Club.

50-Year-Old Tiger Woods Gets Real on Health Struggles After TGL Finals Return

Tiger Woods (Image via Sky Sports)

Tiger Woods was back in action on Tuesday as the Jupiter Links GC took on the Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC) in the finals of the TGL. Following their loss, the former World No.1 got real regarding his health struggles.

Woods had been out of action for over a year. Since the TGL last year, he had not played in any sort of golf event as he first ruptured his Achilles tendon and then underwent a back surgery in October to replace his disc.

On Monday, his team suffered a 6-5 loss in Game 1 of the best-of-three TGL finals. Akshay Bhatia, who had joined the team as an alternate member in the absence of Woods, was unavailable for the finals as he traveled to India for the Hero Indian Open.

With Bhatia unable to compete and his team on the brink, Woods stepped up. After the loss on Monday, it was announced that he will be taking part in the do-or-die Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Jupiter Links GC started well in Game 2 and cruised to a 2-0 lead. Woods’ swing early on demonstrated that he still had what it takes to compete.

The night, however, did not end the way Woods wanted. The LAGC would mount an epic comeback over the course of 5 holes and stun their opponents, walking out as 9-2 winners.

In the press conference after the loss, Woods was asked about his health again. With the Masters Tournament around the corner, there have been several speculations regarding his comeback at this event.

The 50-year-old did not mince words regarding his health and expressed that he was “trying” to get ready for the first major.

As I said, 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. 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. … I want to play. I love the tournament.

Tiger Woods said

During the Genesis Invitational in February, Woods expressed that a return at the Masters was not off the table for him. His last competitive start on the PGA Tour came in July 2024 when he played in the Open Championship. He missed the cut in that event after carding scores of 79 and 77 in the first two rounds.

The golfer will be at the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National even if he is not playing. He will take part in the Champions Dinners, which will be hosted by TGL co-founder Rory McIlroy this year, following his emphatic victory last year.

Tiger Woods’ return unable to help Jupiter Links GC avoid defeat in TGL finals

On Tuesday, Tiger Woods finally swung a golf club in an event in front of an audience in more than a year. He however, was unable to save his team from suffering a 2-0 finals loss as they got hammered 9-2 in the finals.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods (Image via X/@TWlegion)

Woods and his team went 2-0 up after 4 holes and looked in control of the game. The LAGC threw the hammer on the 6th hole and earned 2 points to tie the game.

They then earned 1 point on holes 7 and 8, respectively. The Jupiter Links GC would throw the hammer on the 9th hole. This move did not work out for them, as the LAGC picked up 2 more points.

On the 10th hole, Justin Rose‘s second shot would set him up for an eagle on the par-5 hole. Max Homa, meanwhile, failed to convert his birdie putt. With both teams throwing the hammer, the hole was worth 3 points.

After Homa’s birdie putt miss, the team would concede the hole. This resulted in LAGC getting 3 points and winning the game 9-2 and claiming the TGL title with a 2-0 series win.

It was a slight improvement for the Jupiter Links GC from last season. In the inaugural edition, they finished bottom of the standings without winning a single game. They will hope to do one better than this year in the next season and bring home the trophy.

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