Tiger Woods says his return to action is “still some time” away. 

The 50-year-old has not played competitive golf since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.

He had disc replacement surgery in his lower back last October, eight months after going under the knife again after rupturing his left Achilles tendon whilst training at home.

Woods has been playing a limited schedule since suffering severe injuries in a car accident in February 2021.

READ: The ‘crazy’ story of what happened when Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour comeback at Torrey Pines

He has made every effort to compete in the big four ever since but has only made eight major appearances.

Unfortunately for Woods, he has missed the cut in half of those – but his all-time record for consecutive cuts made at The Masters remains in tact.

The 82-time PGA Tour winner provided an update on his latest comeback on 2 February after he watched his TGL team, Jupiter Links, record their first ever victory in the indoor league.

He was told by one golf reporter that he was moving around “pretty good”.

Asked how close he was to playing, Woods said: “Playing here? I don’t know. I like watching these guys.

“As far as competitive golf, it’s still some time.”

That will cause concern for some golf fans who were hoping to see Woods back in action as soon as possible.

The 2026 Masters is now only 65 days away.

He will likely want to get some competitive reps under his belt before even thinking about Augusta National.

Will Brooks Koepka join TGL?

Woods was also asked about the possibility of Brooks Koepka joining TGL.

The five-time major champion quit LIV Golf last December.

On the same day he walked away from the PIF-backed breakaway, Koepka immediately phoned Woods to discuss his return to the PGA Tour.

Woods and new PGA Tour executive Brian Rolapp got their heads together and cobbled together the returning member programme.

Koepka made his first start on the PGA Tour in more than four years last week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

He made the cut on the number but struggled considerably on the greens.

Koepka is back in action this week at the WM Phoenix Open.

Asked whether Koepka will join a TGL team soon, Woods said: “I don’t know that part yet.

“Brooks just got his feet wet being back on our Tour again at Torrey, and he’s playing Waste Management this week.

“We’ve got one new team next year, and should have two.

“I don’t know when it’s going to be sewn up or not. But who knows.

“If Brooks is going to be on a team or not on a team, but we
have a great team here.

“My boys here, we’ve had so much fun going back and forth, and these group texts are just awesome.”

Much to the relief of the PGA Tour and its broadcast partners, Brooks Koepka made the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Brooks Koepka did it by the skin of his teeth. He was three shots back of the cut line with two holes to go, but he eagled the 17th and birdied the last to just sneak through to the weekend’s play.

It’s big news for Koepka, who can spend the weekend at the exceptionally difficult Torrey Pines finding his game and testing himself following his return to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. It’s also big news for the event.

This year’s Farmers Insurance Open has a fair few more eyes on it this year than in seasons past, as it’s the site of Koepka’s comeback. If Koepka missed the cut, then interest in the event could have plummeted.

It’s reminiscent of a time when Tiger Woods was at the top of his game, and his involvement in an event could make or break it.

READ: Tiger Woods Breaks Silence on Brooks Koepka’s First Call After PG

‘Crazy’ Tiger Woods story shows the importance of Brooks Koepka making the cut

Woods, as the greatest of all time, carried the weight of the PGA Tour on his back for years, especially upon his return from injury in 2018.

His first event of the year was at Torrey Pines, and Michael Kim recounted how the tournament director reacted when Woods nearly missed the cut.

Kim posted to X, “Back in 2018 (I think), Tiger had made his anticipated comeback at Farmers. So much energy at the tournament. I had finished a little earlier than Tiger on Friday. He was on the North course, needing one birdie to make the cut.

“I and many others sat in dining watching the TV. In there with us was the tournament director and I’ll never forget how pale his face was. He was so nervous, I told him, don’t worry Tiger is going to birdie the last hole, it’s a par 5.

“He did indeed birdie the last to make the cut and the tournament director breathed a massive sigh of relief haha.”

The tour needed Woods to keep the people watching, and the tournament knew it. And Kim knows it first hand. He went on to explain what it was like when Woods didn’t make it to the weekend.

He continued, “I also remember when one yr Tiger played and missed the cut. It was crazy. That same energy he injected to the tournament Thursday Friday was gone and then some. It was a freaking ghost town on the weekend. The contrast made it feel that much worse.”

Koepka obviously doesn’t have the same draw as Woods, so there wasn’t as much risk to the tournament as when Woods missed the cut, but with so many big names not qualifying for the weekend’s action, this was important.

Xander Schauffele missed the cut, as did Ludvig Aberg and Max Homa, so Koepka’s making it through means that little bit more.

Brooks Koepka reveals what was special about making the cut

For Koepka, making the cut at Torrey Pines was particularly special. He got to celebrate with his son, Crew, who hasn’t seen his dad make the weekend too often when at the course.

He explained after the round, “Yeah, it was great, it was great. I don’t know the last time I’ve actually made a cut and [my family] still been there. Since, as Doug pointed out earlier in the week, I wasn’t making the cuts on the weekends at the majors when they were there.

“But yeah, so it was nice to have them out there. And it felt good. I don’t know, my son doesn’t really know what’s going on, but it’s cool for me to have them here.”

When Koepka left LIV Golf for the PGA Tour, he said spending time with his family was one of the biggest reasons. He’s already had that wish granted in his first event of the season, and for the first time in a long time, Koepka looks happy to be out there playing golf.