Tiger Woods Ruptures Achilles As Injury Challenges Mount

Tiger Woods has suffered yet another major injury that will likely keep the legendary golfer off the course for at least the remainder of the year.

On Tuesday afternoon, Woods, 49, announced he had torn his Achilles, which typically takes at least four to six months to recover from.

“As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” he said in a statement posted on social media. “This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. ‘The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,’ added Dr. Stucken. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.”

If Woods is indeed out through the summer, he would be 50 next time he plays in a major championship, likely next year’s Masters.

Woods was not in the field for the Players Championship this week, but played in four TGL matches this year and was expected to play in the Masters next month. In February, he had originally planned on playing the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts annually, but he withdrew after his mother died unexpectedly.

In December, Woods played in the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, but before that had last competed at the Open Championship in July. In September, he had back surgery, believed to be at least his fourth.

Woods missed the cut at the Open Championship, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship in 2024, and finished 60th at the Masters. He withdrew from last year’s Genesis Invitational after the first round.

Since Woods has not contended at any of the major championships he’s played in recent years, or competed in many other PGA Tour events, TV networks have not regularly been counting on his star power to boost ratings like it once did. However, Woods’s debut match in TGL, the indoor golf league he cofounded this year, drew a season-high 1.05 million viewers on ESPN on a Tuesday night in January. 

Away from competition, Woods remains an influential figure in the PGA Tour’s negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. He attended a recent White House meeting to attempt to broker a deal with LIV Golf.

Meanwhile, Woods’s apparel brand, Sun Day Red, which launched last year, got a boost Sunday when its lone brand ambassador, PGA Tour rookie Karl Vilips, won the Puerto Rico Open.