Tiger Woods announced this week that he underwent surgery for a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, leaving his golf future once again in question. And longtime ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser believes the next time we see Woods competing in professional golf will be with the senior PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Woods will turn 50 this December, making him eligible for the tour. For years, since injuries began to take their toll on Woods, he has resisted speculation about joining the senior circuit, instead staying focused on his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major tournament victories. But after this latest physical setback, Kornheiser believes Woods will finally embrace the next chapter of his career and turn it into a positive rather than a negative.
“The next time we see him, I believe, is in something that everyone says he won’t do, the Senior Open. I think he’s gonna want to do it. I think if he can play, he’s played golf his whole life, he’s one of the greatest two golfers of all time,” Kornheiser said on his podcast Wednesday. “I think he’s gonna want to play, and I think his son is gonna say to him, ‘Hey dad, come on, I’ll caddie for you…why don’t you give it a shot?'”
Beyond getting to embrace fatherhood on the links, Kornheiser also believes the role of elder statesman will appeal to Woods more than it once did. Kornheiser pointed to Woods cofounding and competing in TGL as the latest example of Woods becoming more of an “ambassador” for the sport rather than disappearing.
Kornheiser believes competing in the 50-plus tour would keep Woods in the spotlight and allow him to claw back years that injuries stole from him.
“He has been denied the chance to fully realize all that he could have done in this sport. He is a star-crossed figure,” Kornheiser said. “But I think we’ll see him again, because … he has taken on a role that nobody ever thought he would take on, which is ambassador of golf.”
As much of a miracle as it seemed in 2019 when Woods won The Masters, multiple back problems and an Achilles surgery later, it would seem close to impossible that Woods makes a return to the PGA Tour in his 50s. But the PGA Tour Champions circuit plays one fewer round and allows golfers to use golf carts rather than walking the full course.
If Tiger Woods could continue on in a format that took less of a physical toll on him while remaining the face of golf and competing alongside his son, it’s hard to see why he would turn it down.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.