PGA Tour Veteran Drops Hint On Possible Tiger Woods Return Date

When will we see Tiger Woods play competitive golf again is one of the big questions in the sport - and Davis Love III has a hope it'll be in the same field as him on the PGA Tour Champions in January.

With Woods turning 50 at the end of the year he's eligible to play in the senior ranks once he's healthy - but for years now his fitness has prevented him from continuing his career as he'd have liked.

Yet another back surgery is the latest problem Woods has to overcome, with the 15-timer Major champion having his seventh back operation in October to replace a disc.

Woods was spotted at a Bridgestone Golf content shoot earlier this month, and while no timetable for his playing return has been discussed he's not expected to play in December's PNC Championship and he's not in the field for his own Hero World Challenge.

Love, though, hopes to see Woods back in action much earlier than many expect - at the first PGA Tour Champions event of 2026 in Hawaii in January.

The 61-year-old says he doesn't "have any idea" just how much Woods will compete on the over-50s tour, but sounded hopeful of seeing him in the field at the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

"I'm hoping he'll play," said Love of Woods. "Same thing with Zach Johnson, Zach's about to turn 50. I'm hoping these guys come out and play. It is a lot of fun.

"It's obviously different than playing - you know, Tiger could play Major championships and probably be competitive if he could get healthy.

"I'm hoping he'll play and I hope I see him in Hawaii in January. That would be a nice start to the year."

PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady has said the organization is already "well prepared" for Woods making his seniors debut, whenever and wherever that may be.

Given that Woods has proven on a few recent comebacks that he can still hit the shots but struggles to walk the four rounds of a tournament - being able to use a golf cart on the PGA Tour Champions could be a big draw.

There's an element of ego involved on the subject of carts though, and Love says he's trying to negate this by making them mandatory - so these still fierce competitors don't feel uncomfortable.

"I'm pushing for mandatory cart rule on the Champions Tour, so that we have to ride so that everybody including me feels comfortable riding," Love added.

"I feel bad when I ride. I walked 18 holes yesterday. I'm like, I could have - this Champions Tour, I could have ridden half of this round."

Zach Johnson has recently turned 50 and is due to play on the PGA Tour Champions circuit next year - and would love to have Woods join him.

"My response to Tiger and golf I think is probably a pretty universal outlook on that: I just want him to play and I want him to play healthy," said Johnson.

"I don't know what that looks like. Obviously he's a friend and I hope that we have not seen remotely the last of him. He's a lot older than me, you know, two months.

"I don't know. I hope in some capacity he has the ability to compete. He's still going to be out here whatever that looks like certainly helping the PGA Tour with a lot of things internally.

"Hopefully he stands up for the PGA Tour Champions and what that's all about. I'm sure he will, most of his friends are out there, too."

Woods' only statement on his 2026 schedule has been to say he'll be appearing at his team's TGL matches in Florida.

He hosts the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour in February and The Masters is always on his mind - but with a big problem being able to get enough tournament practice in to stay sharp but not overdoing things, perhaps the seniors is the way to go.

Playing three rounds, as most events are outside the senior Majors, and using a golf cart would save Woods' body for purely golf swings - so maybe it could be the perfect way to prolong his playing days.