Did Donald Trump Just Break The News Of Whether Tiger Woods Will Play In The Masters?

US President Donald Trump seemingly knows whether Tiger Woods will play at The Masters or not, as he revealed on live TV in America

Tiger Woods pictured at the White House as he received the Medal of Freedom from US President Donald Trump after his 2019 Masters victory at Augusta National
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Not many things would surprise you in modern day golf, but US President Donald Trump breaking the news of Tiger Woods' Masters availability is certainly one of them.

And yet here we are, with President Trump appearing on TV to express with seeming certainty the answer to one of the big questions in golf right now - will Tiger Woods play in The Masters?

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"I love Tiger, but he won't be there," Trump said on Fox News. "He'll be there but he won't be playing in it."

Woods will indeed be at Augusta this year, to sample Rory McIlroy's Champions Dinner and also open a new project The Patch at Augusta Municipal Golf Course.

The 82-time PGA Tour winner has had a dreadful run of injuries over the last year, but made his first competitive swings back in public during the recent TGL final for his Jupiter Links GC.

The 15-time Major champion hasn't played in a regular outdoor tournament since the PNC Championship in late 2024 alongside son Charlie, with Achilles surgery last March followed by his seventh back surgery last October.

Woods is remaining hopeful he can play at The Masters though, and gave his fans hope with his comments after that final loss in TGL.

"As I said, I've been trying," said Woods. "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."

Will Tiger Woods play in The Masters?

Tiger Woods wins the 2019 Masters

Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters title with that epic victory in 2019 - just making the field in 2026 would almost as big an achievement

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Does Donald Trump know something we don't? As unlikely as it seems there is a route to some direct knowledge here, with Woods in a relationship with Vanessa Trump - the ex-wife of Trump's son Don Jr.

Woods then obviously spends a lot of time with Trump's granddaughter and aspiring golfer Kai so it's not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that the President has some inside knowledge.

Trump says a lot of things with authority though, so it's almost certainly an opinion rather than a matter of fact - as going on Woods' last comments not even he knows for sure.

It's more likely to be a game time decision for Woods, who will try and work on his game for longer periods and see how his body reacts before taking on the challenge of a seriously tough walk around Augusta.

And he'll want to be sure he can compete and complete at least two rounds at Augusta to extend his record 24 consecutive made cuts at The Masters.

We'll take it for what it is, a mere throwaway comment, but regardless, the President of the United States breaking big golf news on live TV? This sport is never short of headlines these days.

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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