PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | When the news of Tiger Woods’ ruptured Achilles crackled through the pre-tournament peace at the Players Championship Tuesday afternoon, it came with a sagging sense of déjà vu and a wistful concern about whether this is the one that puts the period on arguably the greatest golf story ever written.
“It sucks,” is how Rory McIlroy described his reaction Wednesday morning.
It’s a natural assumption that a 12th surgery in the past 17 years – this one on his “good” left leg – might be the one that closes off any more real comebacks considering Woods is just nine months away from his 50th birthday.
But let’s not go down that road, not just yet, because this is Tiger Woods we’re talking about.
A torn Achilles is debilitating and painful, especially for someone old enough to be getting AARP mailers, but it’s not the end of the athletic world. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Dan Marino are just a few whose careers glistened post-Achilles injury.
Bernhard Langer tore his Achilles last year and three months later he was playing competitive golf again – and he won a PGA Tour Champions event last November at age 67, reinforcing the freakish brilliance of his career.
Langer hasn’t dealt with as many serious injuries as Woods has, including the forever effects of his nearly fatal auto accident four years ago, but he is a generation older than the 15-time major champion which suggests time, even as it continues its steady creep, can still be Woods’ ally.
If Woods wants to – and there’s no reason to think his competitive DNA has been compromised by his latest setback – he can push himself through another rehab which has become as familiar over the years as hitting another pile of practice balls.
According to a surgeon who has performed many Achilles surgeries, including on professional athletes, the standard recovery time is four to six months. Woods said in his social media statement announcing his injury that the surgery was minimally invasive, which suggests a potentially shorter recovery time, but it is unclear when Woods might be able to return to golf, especially tournament golf where walking is part of the process.
Now Woods is forced to wait out another recovery at a time when he intended to be prepping for the season’s major championships. It is a sadly familiar story but, to this point anyway, each chapter has provided an open-ended conclusion.
The surgery means Woods will not be able to play in the Masters next month and it’s likely he will miss all four major championships this year. He will be eligible for PGA Tour Champions, which permits carts, in 2026.
“I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab,” Woods said in the statement following surgery on Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
It is the latest development in an already challenging 2025 for Woods. One month ago, Woods’ mother, Kultida, passed away and he acknowledged he had hardly practiced since then. Woods’ game lacked its familiar sharpness in his TGL appearance last week with his Jupiter Links teammates.
Tiger Woods at the 2024 Open Championship. Keyur Khamar, PGA Tour via Getty Images
He had begun preparing for an expected start in the Masters when he felt sharp pain in his left Achilles, leading to the surgery.
Woods has also been involved in the PGA Tour’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund over a possible resolution to professional golf’s continuing turf war, recently joining commissioner Jay Monahan, Adam Scott and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House.
Only Woods can answer if he still has the “want to” that drove him to places no one else in the game has ever gone. He has acknowledged that his various injuries have limited how much he can practice and that his playing schedule, spotty and slim the past several years, is dictated by his health.
He played in all four majors last year, extending his Masters record by making a 24th consecutive cut, but he failed to reach the weekend in the three other major championships.
Woods underwent microdecompression surgery on his back last September and returned to play the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, in December.
He did not play in the Hero World Challenge he hosts in the Bahamas earlier that month and after initially committing to play the Genesis Invitational hosted by his foundation last month at Torrey Pines, Woods withdrew after his mother’s passing.
It was thought Woods might play either the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week or the Players Championship this week but he tipped his hand after his final TGL match of the season last week.
“This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed so I haven’t really gotten into it,” Woods said in a post-match interview. “My heart’s not really into practicing right now.”
Now Woods is forced to wait out another recovery at a time when he intended to be prepping for the season’s major championships. It is a sadly familiar story but, to this point anyway, each chapter has provided an open-ended conclusion.
Another chapter began this week with the ending yet to be written.
Top: Tiger Woods at the 2024 U.S. Open. Photo: Tracy Wilcox, PGA Tour via Getty Images
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