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The post Tiger Woods said little in return to public eye but made his presence felt appeared first on Golf.

There was a Tiger Woods sighting in Cromwell, Conn., just south of Hartford, Tuesday morning.

Woods, who hadn’t made a public appearance since he rolled over his Range Rover on a South Florida roadway on March 27 and was arrested on suspicion of DUI, was in town to help announce sweeping changes to the PGA Tour’s competitive structure.

The setting: the PGA Tour’s eighth and final Signature event of the 2026 season, the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. We’ve known for some time that big news would be coming this week, in the form of PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp revealing details about the Tour’s new relegation model for 2028 and onward. But not until Woods appeared in the Travelers press tent at approximately 10 a.m. local time did we know he’d also be a part of the proceedings.

Woods wore a charcoal suit and light-blue tie paired with sensible soft-spike golf shoes. He looked good, certainly far better than he did the last time the prying eyes of the world saw him, by way of footage from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. In that widely circulated video, Woods was in the back of a squad car, handcuffed and sweating, with a blanket over his head.

Woods didn’t say much Tuesday: 150 words, for those not counting at home. But his presence, as it always does, held weight. For one, he was back from a reported six-week stay at a rehabilitation center in Switzerland. Good on him. For another, he was reasserting himself, in the public eye, anyway, as a Tour mover and shaker, specifically in his role as chairman of the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee, a nine-member board that has driven many of the changes Rolapp and the Tour announced Tuesday.

It’s unknown how much, if at all, Woods contributed to committee matters during his time abroad (Woods did not take questions on Tuesday), but in his remarks he said he was “proud of the work we’ve done and am grateful to everyone who’s contributed along the way.”

Woods also said, “This work was never about any one player or person. It was about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hard conversations, and thinking boldly about what is best for the game that we all love.”

When Woods, who delivered his commentary from a clear-plastic podium, passed the baton to Rolapp, the CEO said, “Thank you, Tiger. I think I speak for all of us, glad to see you back.”

News

PGA Tour ratifies sweeping changes that will change pro golf as we know it

By: Sean Zak

Much has happened in the golf world since Woods’s arrest: three men’s major champions were crowned (Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and, just last week, Wyndham Clark), while on the women’s side, Woods’s former Nike stablemate, Nelly Korda, has been running the table. As all that fun has been unfolding between the ropes, Rolapp and the Tour’s fleet of committees, investors and other assorted advisors have been grinding in board rooms and virtual meetings. “A lot of Zoom calls,” Maverick McNealy, an FCC member and co-chairman the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, said Tuesday in a presser of his own.

“I think one of the best benefits of the schedule that hasn’t been talked about as much is how much of our membership is going to have schedule predictability now,” McNealy said. “It was really something that was reserved for the top 30, maybe the top 50 players, knowing what they were going to play in at the start of the year, and now we’ve got over 200 members that are going to know January 1st every tournament that they’re in. That’s going to be a huge quality of life thing.”

Woods’ quality of life, with his sundry injuries and personal struggles, surely has been mixed of late. He will be 52 when the Tour’s new model is instituted and, barring him adding to his haul of 82 Tour titles between now and then, will be almost a decade removed from his last Tour victory. How aging-out stars, even one of Woods’s outsized stature, will fit into the reimagined, more cutthroat Tour is one of the questions that remains to be answered.

“When the dust settles, there will be a clear form of eligibility, and how you earn your way into the Championship Series will be clear,” Rolapp said of the Tour’s new upper rung. “Career milestones and accomplishments, how do we deal with that? Current ones and in the future. I think we’re still working on that, and I think there’s an effort from the committee to recognize career accomplishments. But at the end of the day, it will be the meritocracy that wins out.”

In 2024, the Tour created a special sponsor exemption for Woods and Woods alone, based on his “exceptional lifetime achievement.” The exemption grants him entrée to all of the Signature events. When asked whether that exemption will remain intact beyond 2027, a Tour spokesperson told GOLF.com that decision will be made later, adding, “They are looking at those types of exemptions and if they fit with the new model being truly meritocratic.”

Is there a world in which Tiger bleepin’ Woods could be on the outside of the Tour bubble looking in? Given he does for golf tournaments what rising tides do for ships, it’s hard to fathom — but also too soon to say. In the meantime, it’s nice to have Woods back in any capacity.

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The post The PGA Tour is changing. Here’s what we like — and don’t like appeared first on Golf.

The post The PGA Tour is changing. Here’s what we like — and don’t like appeared first on Golf.

Fans will figure this all out because we always do.

To get through this whole new-look PGA Tour thing, you have to start at the starting point: The role of the Tour commissioner was to expand playing opportunities for its membership. By charter and by definition, that was the commissioner’s job. That was then.

Now the Tour has a CEO, Brian Rolapp, who in Hartford on Tuesday laid out a new structure and vision. Rolapp’s job is to make money for the Tour’s investors (John Henry & Co.) and its shareholders (select PGA Tour players, past and present). The way to do that is to give the customers — golf fans of all stripes — what we want. With that in mind, the Tour’s overlords will use this ancient math formula developed by Archimedes and his buddies:

👀 👀 👀 = $$$

So, the starting point is to accept that this is a brand-new day because it is. The starting point is to accept that the PGA Tour was founded by golf people: Bob Goalby, Joe Dey (first commissioner, for five years), Jack Nicklaus, Deane Beman (second commissioner, for two decades). Brian Rolapp is not a golf guy. He’s an eyeball guy. Tiger Woods, his appointed golf guy and who introduced Rolapp at the Tuesday presser, is also a show-me-the-money guy. His own show-me-the-money guy is his longtime agent, Mark Steinberg, cagey and smart. Steinberg made a big bet early on to have Tiger and his other clients — Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, maybe some other Justins — keep far away from the PIF money. Loyalty pays.

Here’s what makes sense, once you accept the foregoing:

*A PGA Tour schedule with about two dozen events in it, including the majors and (how does that work?) the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. A guess is the Tour is going to figure out a way to pay the players, beyond just a “stipend.” Yes, it’s gross. Get over it.

*Fields in those 20-odd events having 120 players and a cut. That’s a good number and, given that it takes a threesome of elite professionals well over five hours to play 18 holes these days — it should take under four — 120 is a good number. Also, you can get to know 120 players.

*Relegation. As a concept, good. The word itself will not have legs in the culture of the game. It is a term of team sports, futball most specifically. When baseball players come and go, they’re getting called up or demoted to the minors. The PGA Tour has a beautiful phrase baked into its life blood and it can be used here: The Card. You have a card — PGA Tour playing privileges — or you don’t. You’re trying to get a card. You’re trying to reclaim your card. You’re trying to keep your card. If American Express takes this on as a branding opportunity it will kill its appeal but that will probably happen anyhow.

*Tier I and Tier II, as terms, are already buried; they are not mentioned in the Tour’s Tuesday press release. The terms that were used, Championship Series and Challenger Series, are about as catchy as PGA Tour Champions for the Senior Tour. Just call the Championship Series by its historic name: The Tour. To play it, you need a Tour Card. You can call the series for aspiring tour players the Driving Tour. Or the driving tour. (Not everything needs to be capitalized. Consider the iPhone and the iPad.)

News

Booing Wyndham Clark, Shinny and Trade Parade: 50 thoughts on U.S. Open

By: Nick Piastowski

The Korn Ferry Tour gets one brief and vague mention in the Tuesday press release. The challenger tour sounds like it is the Korn Ferry Tour. The Korn Ferry Tour was previously the Web.com Tour, the Nationwide Tour, the Buy.com Tour, the Nike Tour and the Hogan Tour. We’re worn out. A key component of the driving tour would be to make it a driving tour (powered by Avis!). That’s how the tour became the tour, guys driving. People love a road show. The Driving Tour can be the place for true-grit golf. It can be every bit as appealing as The Tour. If not more so.

*The Tour finale is slated to become a match-play competition. This can be a great thing. The FedEx playoffs have been a mess from the beginning — they never felt like anything but a rich-get-richer money grab. But if you’re going to have match play at the end of the year, you should likely have it at the beginning, too. You’ve maybe heard about the work being done by the Committee to Resurrect Walter Hagen.

Very briefly: the first major of year, in late winter, becomes the PGA Championship, now combined with the AT&T — the Pebble Beach pro-am. Three rounds at Pebble. The winner gets big fat check, the Bing Crosby medal, eternal consciousness. The top 16 players then proceed to a weekend of match play at the Cypress Point Club, just down the road. Single elimination. Saturday morning and afternoon. Sunday morning and afternoon. The guy who goes 4-0 is your PGA Championship champion, with all the rights and privileges heretofore, etc. You know why it works, or one of the reasons? You can understand it, just as you can understand match play.

All these enhancements notwithstanding, Rolapp’s rollout is not perfect. There are three glaring issues, from this seat in the house:

*There is not a single mention of charitable giving in the explanatory press release. That is the underpinning of the PGA Tour. That’s how these events get their free work force. That is, the volunteers.

*A card-carrying Tour player needs to be able to play other, smaller events as he wishes. Good for everybody. Just say it.

*Say something about a pathway back to the Tour for its prodigal sons — or say there isn’t one. If you want a fourth, it all sounds way too lawyerly and bureaucratic. It’s sport. It should be fun.

Last thing: You want to understand what the PGA Tour will look like in 2028 and beyond? Read my colleague Sean Zak, here and here on out. As Steve Sands of Golf Channel was once the only person who understood the FedEx playoffs, Zak is the one person, or one of the few, who actually can explain what Tiger and Steinberg and John Henry and Brian Rolapp are doing here. In time, this will all make sense. Because sport, broadly speaking, is a refuge in our lives, a place where we can go because it all makes sense. That which makes sense here will have legs. You can make it from the driving tour to the Tour tour. You can get a card. All you have to do is play good. No grammar check needed.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

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The post What’s up with Tiger & Phil? Questions persist as another major looms appeared first on Golf.

The post What’s up with Tiger & Phil? Questions persist as another major looms appeared first on Golf.

Now and again, a reader will write in with this existential riddle: What’s up with Tiger and Phil?

It’s beyond weird, that golf’s two most dominant figures over the past three decades have all but vanished from the sport’s landscape and even its screen-scape.

The most recent Woods update came courtesy of People magazine. (Telling.) The news was that the 15-time major champion is in a residential treatment facility outside the United States for what appears to be to a three-month stay to address his addiction issues. This return to a rehabilitation center — he sought treatment in a Mississippi facility in 2010 for addictive behavior — came in the wake of his late-March roadside arrest near his home in South Florida. Woods is expected to complete the treatment by the end of June, though he did, per People, return briefly to Florida after his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, former daughter-in-law of the current president, announced she had breast cancer.

Tiger Woods is the last person who would want to turn himself into a character in a real-life version of “As the World Turns,” but he has. 

On Wednesday, Golf Digest reported that Mickelson’s membership at the Farms Golf Club, his longtime and regular hangout in northern San Diego County, had been revoked after “a female club employee accused the six-time major champion of inappropriate contact with her before a round of golf.” Mickelson, for some months now, has receded from public life due to, as Mickelson said on the eve of the Masters, a “personal health matter” involving a family member. In follow-up stories to the Golf Digest piece, different news outlets have cited a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department saying that an investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing on Mickelson’s part and that the office would further investigate if evidence materialized.

Neither Mickelson nor Woods is in the field at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills next week. That’s not at all surprising. Woods is 50 with a body compromised by numerous surgeries, the most complicated of them following his single-vehicle car crash in Los Angeles County in February 2021. Mickelson is nearly 56 and his LIV Golf performances have been broadly mediocre from the start of league play in 2022.

What’s shocking is that neither has been a Ryder Cup captain, that neither is a regular presence as a TV pitchman, that neither is an éminence grise of the game, as Ben Hogan was in his 50s and beyond, as Arnold Palmer was, as Jack Nicklaus was and is. Golf’s long succession plan has been disrupted beyond repair here. What’s shocking is that we never see Tiger and Phil. They have vanished.

Woods, famously bland in his limited public outings through the years, typically at sporting events, is on a variety of PGA Tour committees and boards. But his pressing legal and mental-health issues, in the wake of his recent arrest, have surely superseded those commitments. Mickelson, for years and decades, has been almost goofy in his public life — his “Phireside with Phil”interview series and the rest. He had stunts, bits, comical diatribes. Those sides of the many-sided lefthanded golfer have not been seen in years as he turned from fun Phil to renegade Phil to disappeared Phil. 

Rick Reilly, in a 2008 ESPN column, wrote this:

Rooting for Tiger Woods is like rooting for Justin Timberlake to get lucky, Exxon to hit a gusher, Bill Gates to find a twenty on the sidewalk. It takes no imagination. It takes no courage. What’s the point? It’s 1-to-5 he’s going to win anyway, whether you cheer or not. Makes no difference to him. It’s like rooting for erosion.

Rooting for Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, is like rooting for the salmon to eat the bear. It takes faith. It takes forgiveness. It takes Tums. Mickelson is a roller coaster in an earthquake. One shot will be so inspired you’ll cover your mouth in astonishment. The next will be so Spam-brained you’ll slap your forehead in disbelief. It’s like watching a blind guy jaywalk across Hollywood and Vine. Your fist is in your mouth the whole way.

I bring all this up because Woods and Mickelson will play side-by-side Thursday and Friday at the U.S. Open. You must choose. You cannot root for both. It’s un-American.

Courses

Trump wants a new-look golf course in D.C. Preservationists have another idea

By: Alan Bastable

That 2008 U.S. Open was at Torrey Pines in San Diego, where both Woods and Mickelson, children of Southern California, had played often, as kids, as elite amateurs, as dominating professionals. Woods won that U.S. Open in a playoff and, per the legend of the week, on a “broken leg.” (It was more like a hairline fracture, though Woods was clearly in deep pain.) Mickelson had a T18 finish.

The “Tiger & Phil Show” couldn’t go on forever and it didn’t. In November 2009, Woods ran over a hydrant outside his home in a gated development near Orlando, after a dispute with his then-wife, Elin Nordegren. In the aftermath of that event, his private life was exposed and his public life was never the same. The 9-iron that Nordegren used to smash the windows of Woods’s Cadillac Escalade after he toppled that front-yard hydrant is one of those odd golf artifacts that is part of game’s macabre lore, famous for all the wrong reasons. 

In 2018, when the U.S. Open was last at Shinnecock Hills, Mickelson played hockey on the 13th green in the Saturday round, turning his ball into a puck and his white Odyssey putter into a hockey stick, at least for one whack of a ball in motion. Curtis Strange, on the TV broadcast, said then, “I’ve never seen anything like that from a world-class player in my life.” Strange’s real-time commentary is open to extrapolation into the off-course lives of both subjects here, Mickelson and Woods. It is also true that the two golfing giants have played, and lived, in an era of extreme scrutiny that Nicklaus and Palmer never even imagined. Nicklaus has talked about that, over the years. Still: who would have guessed any of this in 2008? Mickelson’s flatstick, on that Saturday at Shinnecock, was a blade, a cousin to the hockey stick. You remember blade putters, don’t you? As Woods used to say, Father Time is undefeated. Dusk arrives eventually for every day in the sun.

Their talent is their talent. Woods, amazingly, won the 2019 Masters at age 43. (Nicklaus won it at 46 and people still talk about that.) Mickelson, amazingly, won the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50. (Palmer never won the PGA Championship at all and people still talk about that, like it’s a missing tooth.) Both Woods and Mickelson won those majors as barrel-chested, physically imposing middle-aged men able to hit killer drives while chomping on wads of gum. (Winning while smoking, back in the day? That was once common. But while chewing gum? Not really a thing, pre-Woods. Mickelson’s gum was bright blue.) Each found a way to turn back the hands of time. Each was exuberant in victory, in every way, including in their post-tournament commentary. Now we hear from them chiefly through crafted statements on their social-media platforms, or from those who speak for them.

This is an actual quote from the recent Golf Digest report about Mickelson’s situation with the employee at his now-former club: “`Any misunderstanding has been cleared up.’”

That sentence would maybe mean something had it come directly from Mickelson, and would mean far more had it come from the club employee. But it comes from neither. It’s just another parsed statement from another PR person representing another famous person stuck in another bad spot.

Phil became Phil speaking for himself. As for Woods, his clubs did his best talking. In both cases, it’s been years since we’ve seen them do their thing. Golf has moved on. The gaping hole, in between Arnie-Jack and Tiger-Phil, will never be filled. Too much has happened, and we know too much.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com

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The post LIV major champ earns surprise PGA Championship invite, Tiger and Phil out appeared first on Golf.

The post LIV major champ earns surprise PGA Championship invite, Tiger and Phil out appeared first on Golf.

For many years, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson had been fixtures in major championships. However, only one of them will be teeing it up at next week’s 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink. And he happens to be the only player among them who was not previously eligible for the second major of the year.

On Tuesday, the PGA of America revealed the 2026 PGA Championship field list, which included a special invitation for Johnson. The list did not include Tiger’s name, and Mickelson’s name disappeared shortly thereafter.

Here’s what you need to know.

Dustin Johnson gets special invitation to 2026 PGA Championship

Johnson is a two-time major winner and was perennially ranked inside the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking during his prime. As a result, he’s been automatically qualified for every major since 2009. That is, until the 2026 PGA Championship.

Now 41, Johnson plays with LIV Golf, which he joined as part of an early wave of players in 2022. His play has fallen off in recent years, and, for the first time, his major eligibility is at risk.

Thanks to his 2020 Masters win, Johnson will always get an invite to Augusta every April, but his exemptions into other majors for that win have expired. Furthermore, his 10-year U.S. Open exemption for winning the event in 2016 expires after this year.

News

PGA Tour's sponsor invites are controversial. Here are the results

By: Sean Zak

With his world ranking down to No. 468 as of Monday, May 4, Johnson is no longer eligible for the PGA Championship or the Open Championship, and he’ll lose eligibility for the U.S. Open in 2027.

But on Tuesday, the PGA of America unveiled its early field list for next week’s event outside Philadelphia, and Johnson was among those players receiving a special exemption.

Johnson spoke to Golf Channel about his PGA invite.

“Very excited. I want to play in all the majors. I feel like my game is still good enough to compete with everyone and still can win,” Johnson said. “The PGA was nice enough to give me an invitation. So yeah, I’m very, very happy and thankful for that.”

The PGA of America also extended special invitations to Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Andy Sullivan, Angel Ayora and Chandler Blanchet.

In all, the PGA field list features 154 players. But two additional competitors could be added should the winners of this week’s Truist Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic not already be qualified.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson will not play PGA Championship

As past PGA champions, Woods and Mickelson were both eligible for this year’s PGA Championship, which kicks off May 14. Mickelson was even included in the field when the PGA of America initially released it.

But later on Tuesday, the PGA announced that Mickelson had “withdrawn from the 2026 PGA Championship field due to a personal health matter with his family.” The same unspecified family health matter kept Mickelson out of the 2026 Masters and has prevented him from playing in any LIV Golf events this season.

News

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s Ryder Cup captaincy absences loom large

By: Michael Bamberger

Mickelson’s greatest PGA moment occurred not that long ago. In 2021, Mickelson shocked the world by winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course. With the victory, his sixth major title, Mickelson became the oldest major champion in history at 50 years old. One year later, he joined LIV Golf.

The PGA announced that Max Homa would replace Mickelson in the field for this year’s PGA.

Woods’ absence from the PGA Championship field is less of a surprise. While he was rumored to be planning a return from injury at the 2026 Masters, his car crash and ensuing DUI charge in late March ended those plans.

On March 31, Woods announced he was “stepping away” from his career to “seek treatment” and focus on his health. He left no timetable for his potential return.

You can see the full 2026 PGA Championship field as it stands now below.

2026 PGA Championship field (as of 5/6/26)

Åberg, Ludvig – SWEDEN
Ayora, Angel – SPAIN
Berg, Derek – Duvall, WA*
Berger, Daniel – Jupiter, FL
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan – SOUTH AFRICA
Bhatia, Akshay – Jupiter, FL
Bide, Francisco – ARGENTINA*
Blanchet, Chandler – Jacksonville, FL
Block, Michael – Mission Viejo, CA*
Bradley, Keegan – Woodstock, VT
Brennan, Michael – Leesburg, VA
Bridgeman, Jacob – Simpsonville, SC
Brown, Daniel – ENGLAND
Burns, Sam – Shreveport, LA
Campbell, Brian – Irvine, CA
Cantlay, Patrick – Jupiter, FL
Castillo, Ricky – Yorba Linda, CA
Cauley, Bud – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Cink, Stewart – Atlanta, GA
Clark, Wyndham – Denver, CO
Collet, Tyler – Vero Beach, FL*
Conners, Corey – CANADA
Coody, Pierceson – Plano, TX
Day, Jason – AUSTRALIA
DeChambeau, Bryson – Dallas, TX
Detry, Thomas – BELGIUM
Donald, Luke – ENGLAND
Droemer, Jesse – Houston, TX*
Dufner, Jason – Auburn, AL
Echavarria, Nico – COLOMBIA
English, Harris – Sea Island, GA
Fisher, Bryce – Oregon City, OR*
Fisk, Steven – Sea Island, GA
Fitzpatrick, Alex – ENGLAND
Fitzpatrick, Matthew – ENGLAND
Fleetwood, Tommy – ENGLAND
Fox, Ryan – NEW ZEALAND
Fowler, Rickie – Murrieta, CA
Gabriele, Chris – Huntington, NY*
Geddes, Mark – ENGLAND*
Gerard, Ryan – Raleigh, NC
Glover, Lucas – Jupiter, FL
Gotterup, Chris – Little Silver, NJ
Griffin, Ben – Chapel Hill, NC
Grillo, Emiliano – ARGENTINA
Greyserman, Max – Short Hills, NJ
Gumberg, Jordan – Delray Beach, FL
Hall, Harry – ENGLAND
Harman, Brian – Sea Island, GA
Harrington, Pádraig – IRELAND
Hatton, Tyrrell – ENGLAND
Haynes, Zach – Bowling Green, KY*
Henley, Russell – Columbus, GA
Higa, Kazuki – JAPAN
Higgo, Garrick – SOUTH AFRICA
Highsmith, Joe – Lakewood, WA
Hillier, Daniel – NEW ZEALAND
Hisatsune, Ryo – JAPAN
Hoey, Rico – PHILIPPINES
Højgaard, Nicolai – DENMARK
Højgaard, Rasmus – DENMARK
Holt, Ian – Stow, OH
Homa, Max – Scottsdale, AZ
Horschel, Billy – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Hovland, Viktor – NORWAY
Hurt, Austin – Bainbridge Island, WA*
Im, Sungjae – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Jaeger, Stephan – GERMANY
Jarvis, Casey – SOUTH AFRICA
Johnson, Dustin – Jupiter, FL
Jones, Jared – Dublin, OH*
Kaneko, Kota – JAPAN
Katrude, Michael – West Palm Beach, FL*
Kaymer, Martin – GERMANY
Keefer, John – San Antonio, TX
Kern, Ben – Grove City, OH*
Kim, Michael – Dallas, TX
Kim, Si Woo – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kirk, Chris – Watkinsville, GA
Kitayama, Kurt – Chico, CA
Knapp, Jake – Scottsdale, AZ
Koepka, Brooks – West Palm Beach, FL
Lee, Min Woo – AUSTRALIA
Lenahan, Ryan – New Hudson, MI*
Li, Haotong – PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Lindberg, Mikael – SWEDEN
Lipsky, David – Las Vegas, NV
Lowry, Shane – IRELAND
MacIntyre, Robert – SCOTLAND
Matsuyama, Hideki – JAPAN
McCarthy, Denny – Jupiter, FL
McCarty, Matt – Scottsdale, AZ
McClure, Paul – Mobile, AL*
McGreevy, Max – Edmond, OK
McIlroy, Rory – NORTHERN IRELAND
McKibbin, Tom – NORTHERN IRELAND
McNealy, Maverick – Las Vegas, NV
Micheel, Shaun – Collierville, TN
Mitchell, Keith – Sea Island, GA
Morikawa, Collin – La Canada, CA
Mouw, William – Chino Hills, CA
Neergaard-Petersen, Rasmus – DENMARK
Niemann, Joaquin – CHILE
Noren, Alex – SWEDEN
Novak, Andrew – Sea Island, GA
Parry, John – ENGLAND
Pendrith, Taylor – CANADA
Penge, Marco – ENGLAND
Polland, Ben – Wilson, WY*
Poston, J.T. – Sea Island, GA
Potgieter, Aldrich – SOUTH AFRICA
Puig, David – SPAIN
Putnam, Andrew – Lakewood, WA
Rahm, Jon – SPAIN
Rai, Aaron – ENGLAND
Reed, Patrick – The Woodlands, TX
Reitan, Kristoffer – NORWAY
Rodgers, Patrick – Avon, IN
Rose, Justin – ENGLAND
Riley, Davis – Hattiesburg, MS
Saddier, Adrien – FRANCE
Sapp, Garrett – Cypress, CA*
Schaper, Jayden – SOUTH AFRICA
Schauffele, Xander – San Diego, CA
Scheffler, Scottie – Dallas, TX
Schenk, Adam – Vincennes, IN
Schmid, Matti – GERMANY
Scott, Adam – AUSTRALIA
Shattuck, Braden – Aston, PA*
Smalley, Alex – Greensboro, NC
Smith, Cameron – AUSTRALIA
Smith, Jordan – ENGLAND
Smotherman, Austin – Dallas, TX
Smylie, Elvis – AUSTRALIA
Smyth, Travis – AUSTRALIA
Spaun, J.J. – Los Angeles, CA
Spieth, Jordan – Dallas, TX
Stevens, Sam – Wichita, KS
Straka, Sepp – AUSTRIA
Sullivan, Andy – ENGLAND
Taylor, Nick – CANADA
Theegala, Sahith – Chino Hills, CA
Thomas, Justin – Jupiter, FL
Thorbjornsen, Michael – Wellesley, MA
Valimaki, Sami – FINLAND
Vegas, Jhonattan – VENEZUELA
Vermeer, Ryan – Elkhorn, NE*
Walker, Jimmy – San Antonio, TX
Wallace, Matt – ENGLAND
Wiesberger, Bernd – AUSTRIA
Wiseman, Timothy – New Albany, IN*
Woodland, Gary – Topeka, KS
Yang, Y.E. – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Young, Cameron – Palm Beach Gardens, FL

2026 PGA Championship alternates

1. Yellamaraju, Sudarshan – CANADA
2. Hoge, Tom – Fargo, ND
3. Yu, Kevin – CHINESE TAIPEI
4. Meissner, Mac – Dallas, TX
5. Finau, Tony – Lehi, UT
6. Roy, Kevin – Lakewood Ranch, FL
7. Thompson, Davis – Sea Island, GA

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The post Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s Ryder Cup captaincy absences loom large appeared first on Golf.

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Jim Furyk is a curious choice, as a back-up choice and second-chance captain of next year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team. If the PGA of America, in consultation with its Ryder Cup committee, wanted to go down the been-there, done-that road, why not just bring back last year’s model, Keegan Bradley, fresh off his Lessons Learned Tour? Yes, Europe won that event, 15-13. But being a winner was not a prerequisite for the job, and Bradley’s 11 players had some rally-cap Sunday.

The team Furyk captained in 2018, in France, appeared to be sleep-walking through all three days of the event, losing 17.5 to 10.5. The American golfer Tiger Woods appeared to be sleep-sitting through Team USA’s au revoir press conference Sunday night. Woods hasn’t been in a Ryder Cup uniform since then, not in a playing role, not in a managing role, not in any role except sideline whisperer.

Woods was always a Furyk guy. He related to him, grinder to grinder. Bradley was a Phil Mickelson acolyte.

The elephant in the room here is the absence of Woods and Mickelson as Ryder Cup captains, at least for now and maybe forever. The two dominant figures of American golf over the past 30 years, with 127 PGA Tour wins between them, including six PGA Championships, nowhere to be seen. There is no faster summary of the costs of their off-course lives, than that, that neither of these titans of the game is in the Ryder Cup conversation.

Woods, without saying a word, has shown himself to be an irresponsible driver with deep levels of trauma in his life. Mickelson, using a torrent of words, turned his back on his home tour, costing it incalculable damage. Even in this age of metrics, there is no device that could measure the weirdness, or the void.

Once upon a time, it was easy to imagine Mickelson captaining the 2023 team in Italy and the 2025 team at Bethpage Black, and Woods managing the 2027 team in Ireland and the 2029 team at Hazeltine. Maybe it was all a pandemic fever dream. It seems, like the pandemic itself, forever ago.

So, just to put it in one place, here are your six recent-vintage U.S. Ryder Cup captains, plus the next one:

*2018, France, Jim Furyk;

*2021, Whistling Straits, Steve Stricker;

*2023, Italy, Zach Johnson;

*2025, Bethpage Black, Keegan Bradley;

*2027, Ireland, Jim Furyk.

Talk about tried-and-true. Four-for-five, right there. (No one saw Bradley coming, not at 39.) Once upon a time, Arnold Palmer, at age 34, was given the Ryder Cup reins, but that was then (1963). On this list, Steve Stricker is the outlier: He had never won a major! But he was a native son of Wisconsin. Stricker was too modest and too honest to claim any particular role in the U.S. victory in Kohler, Wisc. “Brooks and Bryson wanted to play together — that’s how much [this team] came together,” he said when it was all over. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. They may be frenemies now, but they weren’t then. Stricker did what any good manager, in any field, does: get his players in a place where they can do the thing they do, play golf at a high level. It’s not that complicated, despite the extreme efforts to make it seem so.

News

Is Jim Furyk the right pick as Ryder Cup captain? Our writers discuss

By: Sean Zak, James Colgan, Dylan Dethier

Broadly speaking, the PGA of America is in a tough spot. Waiting on Tiger, waiting and waiting for him to make a decision, didn’t help. The organization still must deal with the worst aspects of last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island, where the PGA of America failed in its ultimate responsibilities, to provide a safe and appropriate atmosphere for spectators and to be a welcoming and gracious host to our European visitors.

The PGA Championship at Aronimink next month, on the far outskirts of Philadelphia, will be a major test, but also an opportunity, for an organization in a state of tumult. Four CEOs in an eight-year period, for one thing. The audacious move from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to Frisco, Texas, outside Dallas, for another. That has been a hard sell all the way around. Future PGA Championships are scheduled for the largely untested new course there, one owned and operated by the PGA of America. The unspoken goal is obvious: make more money. Never an inspiring comment for any true sports fan to hear. The greatness of the Ryder Cup is that it became a money-maker by accident. It became a phenomenon by way of Seve Ballesteros and Jose-Maria Olazabal, Paul Azinger and Payne Stewart, Paul McGinley and Ian Poulter, even Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau. It became the Ryder Cup by dint of personality and the quality of the play, coupled with some exquisite American stages. Here’s looking at you, Oak Hill in early fall, in Rochester, N.Y.

The captain’s job, when you really get it to its essence, is to fill out a lineup card, help set the mood, engage the public. With Jim Furyk, who turns 56 next month, we know what we’re getting. His whole golfing life is rooted in relentless consistency, and it has served him well. DeChambeau, who is 32, would have been a wildcard as a Ryder Cup captain, and a wild choice. But if recent history on this narrow subject has shown us anything, don’t postpone joy. Do not postpone joy when picking Ryder Cup captains. The committee waited too long on Tiger and Lefty. Elvis has left the building. Tiger has, too.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com

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The new Sun Day Red “Spring Traditions” collection is packed with nods to Tiger Woods’ legacy used at Augusta National. There’s a commemorative staff bad, Sunday bag, headcovers, T-shirts, polos, hoodies and more. Let’s check it out.

Pioneer Willow LE Golf Shoes

I didn’t get a chance to check out the Pioneer Willow golf spikes when they came out, but it looks like I’ve now doubled up on my Sun Day Red swag with a pair of the limited edition Pioneer Willow golf spikes. They’ve opted to highlight the Yellow Jasmine over the Azalea, which I actually love. I think the Azalea, although classic, can get a bit overplayed.

The Sun Day Red Pioneer Willows come stock with Softspikes Pulsar spikes, which are a favorite of Woods. The soles are covered with Yellow Jasmine flowers surrounding nine Fast Twist 3.0 spike insertion points. I’ve worn the original Pioneer Cypress on the course a bunch and this pattern is very stable. Having four spikes in the heel allows for a good weight shift, and making sure that a toe spike is included is always a benefit. That’s your last line of defense from slipping backwards in your golf swing.

Sun Day Red Pioneer Willow LE

Welcome to Spring Traditions. The Pioneer Willow arrives at one of golf’s most celebrated moments, dressed for the occasion. Where performance meets the season’s finest expression of style.

$275 from Sun Day Red

The outsole is decorated in a speckle pattern with yellow and green color splashes and specks, and the entire shoe is trimmed out in a very “Augusta” green way. Red accents are highlighted throughout the shoe — mainly in the logos — with a hint of red in the eyelets at the top of the shoe as well.

Also included in the box are the massaging insoles with the option to swap out the stock ones if you wish. I love them. Walking in the shoes makes a huge difference and it was a deciding factor in if I was going to keep my Pioneer Cypress in the playing rotation or not.

My first experience with the Sun Day Red apparel

Along with the shoes, Sun Day Red sent over a few of the polos from the collection as well as a hoodie and a hat. The hat is a pretty standard adjustable 6-panel cap with the Sun Day Red logo in a nice PVC patch on the front.

I also received both “The Legend” and “Crosswind” polos. “The Legend” is a nod to Tiger’s 1991 gem of an outfit with a 3-color horizontal block pattern in green, navy and rose colors. The “Crosswind,” which I received in their rose color, is meant to help reduce heat with a moisture wicking fabric that’s also super breathable. Both polos are really comfortable and provide enough room within the size to fit before and after lunch, and they’re a nice weight. Not too heavy that it feels like its weighing you down, but not too light that it feels uncomfortable to move in. The polos also feature a nice level of stretch. Not so much that the polo starts really tight and hugs you (which is a problem I have with others), but enough that you can tell the stretch wasn’t designed for fit, it was designed for movement. Taking golf swings in either polo doesn’t create an discomfort.

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Buy at Sun Day Red

I have to say, the “Icon Chain Stitch” hoodie is pretty cool. They really nailed the details. The large Sun Day Red logo mark on the chest is embroidered in a really cool gold colorway that stands out against the Deep Forest color that I was sent, along with a subtle gold Sun Day Red word mark on the hoodie and they’ve added gold metal aglets to the end of the hoodie laces for a little bit of extra bling. They describe this as a mid-weight hoodie. It feels nice and solid on the body, but with a bit of room and comfort to move around as well. If I were to throw this over one of the polos on a cold spring day here in Chicago, I could easily take this out on the golf course with me.

If you’re interested in shopping the entire collection which includes more accessories, colors, and other apparel you can visit the collection page on Sun Day Red’s website.

Sun Day Red Icon Chain Stitch Hoodie

A new icon, introducing our incredibly soft, midweight hoodie, engineered for versatility across a range of activities, both on and off course.

$160 from Sun Day Red

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The post ‘I’d tell him I love him’: Fred Couples reflects on Tiger Woods’ struggles appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘I’d tell him I love him’: Fred Couples reflects on Tiger Woods’ struggles appeared first on Golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fred Couples knows something about pain. For nearly half of his 66 years he has battled debilitating back issues that at the Masters two years ago had him in such acute discomfort when hitting short irons that he warmed up with only his driver and 3-wood. In the first round, Couples was so miserable that he wanted to quit but resisted only because he didn’t want to throw his playing partners out of sync.

Tiger Woods, you’ve probably heard, also knows something about pain. No one can say with certainty exactly how many surgeries Woods has had in his professional career (somewhere between “a lot” and “a whole lot”), but we do know the most recent of his seven known back procedures came in October to treat a collapsed disc and compromised spinal canal.

When Woods was arrested for suspicion of DUI on March 27, he told police that he had taken prescription pain medication earlier in the day; police also found opioid pills in Woods’s pocket. On March 31, Woods said in a statement that he was stepping away from the game “to seek treatment and focus on my health” as he works “toward lasting recovery.” A day later, a Florida judge approved Woods’s request to travel overseas for “comprehensive inpatient treatment.” 

Chronic pain isn’t the only thing Couples and Woods have in common. They share a bond that dates to the 1997 Ryder Cup when Couples first took Woods under his wing. In the years since, Woods and Couples became Masters practice-round partners, dinner mates and text buddies. They even shared a caddie; Couples’ former looper, Joe LaCava, went on to spend a dozen years on Woods’s bag. In 2022, Woods referred to Couples as “my dad on Tour.”

So, when Couples wrapped his Monday practice round here at the 90th playing of the Masters Tournament, Woods — and his struggles — was a natural talking point. Couples had seen the unconfirmed reports that a private jet belonging to Woods was spotted in Switzerland but sounded uncertain of Woods’s whereabouts. “If he’s in Switzerland,” Couples told reporters, “he must be at a spot that’s going to help him and that’s the key thing.”

Couples said he texted Woods a few days after Woods’s car accident and subsequent arrest but didn’t feel like it was his place to pry for information. “For me now to get involved with this would not make much sense,” Couples said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”

Couples isn’t alone in that sense. Woods, who won his fifth Masters title in 2019, has played such an outsized role in the last 30 years of this annual rite of spring that it’s hard not think about him when you stroll this storied property. Bubba Watson, who has two green jackets of his own, said Monday he “always” pulls for Woods. “I told him from day one that we started hanging out back in ’06, ’07, somewhere in there, that I’m pulling for him as a human being,” Watson said. “Forget his golf, I could care less about his golf.”

News

Tiger Woods’s fiercest opponent is Tiger Woods himself

By: Michael Bamberger

Jason Day, who is playing in his 14th Masters and, like Woods, has battled back injuries, also was asked to reflect on Woods’s situation. “He’s not immune to [addiction] just because he can hit a golf ball really well,” Day said. “When you’re going through that many procedures, it’s painful coming out of those procedures. I’ve had procedures done and I typically try and stay away from all that stuff because I just know that —— painkillers, there can potentially be a downfall to it.”

The severity of Couples’ back pain has ebbed and flowed, but when it has been at its most persistent, he said Monday, it has affected his mood. “I used to snap at everyone,” Couples said. “Felt like someone was tapping me on the back all day long. After eight to 10 hours, you just can’t take it. It’s like a toothache.”

The pain became so bad in 2011 that Couples couldn’t sleep and reportedly was whispering to friends that he might be done with competitive golf. Drastic times called for . . . a trip to Dusseldorf, Germany, where Couples underwent a treatment called Orthokine therapy, which involves doctors creating an anti-inflammatory serum with the patient’s own blood. The procedure brought Couples relief — for a while, anyway. “I am sleeping,” he said a few months later. But the thing with chronic pain is it’s chronic. All you can do is manage it the best you can. Enjoy the more comfortable moments. Endure the uncomfortable ones.

Couples was asked Monday what he’d tell Woods if he could offer his old friend a word of counsel.

“I’d tell him I love him,” Couples said, “and things can always get better.”

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The post Is Tiger Woods playing the 2026 Masters? appeared first on Golf.

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Tiger Woods’ return to Augusta National will have to wait until 2027.

Following a two-car crash last Friday that led to his DUI arrest, Woods announced that he was “stepping away” to seek treatment and “focus on his health.”

“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” Woods said in a statement released on X. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery. 

“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger and more focused place, both personally and professionally. I appreciate your understanding and support, and ask for privacy for my family, loved ones and myself at this time.”

Prior to the crash and subsequent DUI arrest, Woods had been ramping up his rehab from October back surgery in hopes of teeing it up at Augusta National this week. The 15-time major champion recently made his TGL season debut in Jupiter Links’ championship loss to Los Angeles Golf Club and said he had been pushing as hard as possible to get his body ready.

“As I said, I’ve been trying,” Woods said after his TGL debut about playing the Masters. “Just this body is — it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying. 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. 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. I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that’s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner.”

News

This Masters will be unlike any other Masters in recent memory

By: Michael Bamberger

Three days later, Woods crashed his car on a two-lane road in Jupiter, Fla. The crash came after Woods attempted to overtake a turning truck with a trailer attached. Woods flipped his Range Rover on its side after making contact with the trailer. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed Woods “sweating profusely” and appearing “lethargic and slow,” according to an affidavit obtained by GOLF. Woods was given a field sobriety test. He blew “.000” on the breathalyzer but refused to take a urine test. He was charged with Driving Under the Influence and pleaded not guilty.

After Woods’ announcement that he would be seeking treatment, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley released a statement in support of the 82-time PGA Tour winner.

“Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament fully support Tiger Woods as he focuses on his well-being. Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt her in Augusta.”

Woods did not play in last year’s Masters after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in March. He has not played in a tournament since the 2024 Open Championship.

The 2026 Masters will be the first Masters without Woods or Phil Mickelson since 1994. Mickelson announced last Thursday that he would “be out for an extended period of time” as he and his family “work through a personal health matter.”

The 2026 Masters begins on Thursday, April 9.

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The post This Masters will be unlike any other Masters in recent memory appeared first on Golf.

The Masters does the long game about as well as Warren Buffett. Over the past 70 years, it has produced four absolutely magnetic champions: Arnold Palmer, who won the tourney four times; Jack Nicklaus, with his six titles; Phil Mickelson, who has three victories at Augusta; and Tiger Woods, who won his fifth (and most recent) green jacket in 2019. This year, for the first time since 1954, none of those players is competing in the event.

This year, for the first time since 1994, neither Mickelson nor Woods are in the field.

Of that foursome, only one will be on hand, Big Jack his own self, playing the ceremonial first shot on Thursday morning, beside Tom Watson (two-time winner) and Gary Player (three coats).

So this will be different. These next 20 or 30 or 40 years at Augusta will be different, too.

Palmer and Nicklaus were so revered at Augusta National that they were invited to join the club as dues-paying members, the only former winners to get such an invitation. In other words, they could come to the club as they wished, play the course, bring guests, stay in the cabins, tour the wine cellar without a chaperone. Woods and Mickelson, like all former winners, were honorary members. They still needed a host to play the course. Palmer and Nicklaus had direct ties to the club’s most important figures through its history, including the club’s founders (Bob Jones, Clifford Roberts); various prominent members (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Warren Buffett); and former winners from near and far (Gene Sarazen, Seve Ballesteros). There are plaques on the course honoring Palmer and Nicklaus, with short histories of their Augusta highlights.

Maybe plaques are coming for Mickelson and Woods, and they certainly deserve them for their stirring play at Augusta from over the decades, but it’s not likely they are coming anytime soon.

In the long history of the Masters, Tiger Woods is the only player who ever received a public scolding from a club chairman. That happened at the 2010 Masters, when Woods returned to public life and tournament golf in the wake of a scandal that had private life splashed all over tabloids across the world. The chairman then, Billy Payne, reading from a prepared statement at a Wednesday State-of-the-Masters press conference, said that Woods “had disappointed all of us” and that he had failed as a role model. Woods had a T4 finish that year.

From 1995, when he played as an amateur, through 2013, Woods played in every Masters. (It was in 2013 when he was given a two-shot penalty for taking an incorrect drop on the 15th hole of his Friday round. He had a T4 finish.) Woods didn’t play in 2014 while recovering from a back surgery. He didn’t play in 2016, following another back surgery. He didn’t play in 2017, reportedly for back issues. He didn’t play in 2021, following a harrowing Los Angeles car crash. He didn’t play last year, following surgery for a torn ruptured left-leg Achilles. Woods is not playing this year, following his March 27 DUI arrest in South Florida, near his Jupiter Island home.

Palmer played in 50 consecutive Masters tournaments, none as an amateur. Woods played in 19 straight from 1995 to 2013, including two as an amateur. Nicklaus played in 46 consecutive Masters tournaments, starting with three as an amateur. Mickelson played in the 1991 and ’93 Masters as an amateur, sat out ’94, then played in 27 consecutive events as a pro, from 1995 through 2021. Mickelson didn’t play in 2022 Masters, the year it was revealed that he was leaving his lifelong professional home, the PGA Tour, to join the global, Saudi-backed pro series, LIV Golf. There was an uproar then and Mickelson took a leave from the tournament play and public life for several months.

Lifestyle

Masters-inspired artists play (and paint) by their own set of rules

By: Michael Bamberger

“The past 10 years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level,” he said in statement then. “I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.” Fred Ridley said at the 2022 Masters that the club did not “disinvite” Mickelson from the tournament. But it was an open secret in certain circles that Mickelson was not playing by mutual agreement. He was the reigning PGA champion then, which he had won at age 50. With the club’s encouragement, he likely would have played. In 2023, Mickelson returned to the tournament, was unusually quiet at the dinner and finished in a tie for second.

Mickelson is not playing this year. In a statement on Thursday, he said, “Unfortunately, I will not play in the Masters tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter. I wish everyone the best of luck and will be watching.”

Ridley responded with this statement: “We know how much Phil loves the Masters tournament, and he will be missed by everyone in Augusta next week. He has our complete supports as he takes time to be with his family.”

When Woods won the Masters in 2019, at age 43, his life seemed to be in such a good place, given where he was after his 2017 arrest and his years of back issues, along with other body parts. When Mickelson won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, becoming the oldest winner of a major, he seemed destined to become the closest thing golf had to a next Arnold Palmer. Both were guaranteed to become Ryder Cup captains, to be competitive in U.S. Senior Opens and other stately senior events and to enjoy the kind of adulation that Nicklaus and Palmer enjoyed for decades after their playing careers wrapped up. There’s no sign of that for now.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com

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The post Masters legend blasts Tiger Woods over crash, calls PGA Tour ‘weak’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Masters legend blasts Tiger Woods over crash, calls PGA Tour ‘weak’ appeared first on Golf.

As part of the fallout from Tiger Woods’ rollover car crash, the five-time Masters winner will not play the 2026 Masters next week. While many observers and golf organizations have expressed their support for Woods, one Masters legend and former Masters TV analyst is taking a much different tack.

Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo unloaded on Woods, criticizing him for the car crash for which he was charged with DUI on a recent media call.

But he didn’t stop there. Faldo also went off on the PGA Tour for not holding Tiger accountable for his actions.

Nick Faldo criticizes Tiger Woods: ‘There has to be some accountability’

For much of this year, the golf world waited to hear whether or not Woods would make his return at the 2026 Masters. But now we know the answer.

On March 27, Woods was involved in a rollover crash near his Florida home and arrested and charged with DUI. Woods has pled not guilty to the charges.

Days after, Tiger announced he would be “stepping away” to seek treatment. The PGA Tour and Masters announced their support for Woods and praised him for his difficult decision.

But Faldo sees the situation differently. In a media call this week reported by The Independent and The Times, among other outlets, Faldo criticized both Woods and organizations that offered their support to the 15-time major winner.

He called the PGA Tour’s reaction “predictably weak.”

News

Tiger Woods’ arrest videos add eerie vividness to moments after crash

By: Alan Bastable

“There’s one side that’s like, ‘let’s care for Tiger’… there’s got to be a responsibility and accountability side as well,” Faldo said. “This is a serious thing he’s done, you know. The PGA Tour statement was so predictably weak, how they showed that the Tour will look after him, as they always have done, and then you’ve got Jack [Nicklaus] saying it’s tarnished the entire sport. You’ve got your opposites but there has to be some accountability.”

He continued: “Our sport is based on discipline. You rule yourself, you police yourself. I would have thought the PGA Tour — behind closed doors — must be very disappointed that they pay Tiger tens of millions to be on the course and off the course with this business role he has got.”

He saved some of his harshest criticism for Tiger himself and argued this was a “serious issue.”

“As a person, you know, look at his community. We’re not meant to be on the streets with two pills in our pocket,” Faldo said. “I think the world is divided quite a bit, but the bottom line is, I really think that something… this is a serious issue.”

He expressed sympathy for the fact that Woods is living in pain but also argued his injuries have been “self-inflicted.”

“I feel sorry for Tiger because he’s living in 24-7 pain. I asked him that years ago, even before the L.A. accident [in 2021], but it’s all been self-inflicted,” Faldo said.

“The bottom line is I really think that something should be done a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island and saying ‘Welcome back’ in three or four months.”

News

'We support his decision': Tiger Woods turns down U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy, PGA says

By: Kevin Cunningham

Faldo said he believes Woods will return in a few months without facing consequences, which he explained would never happen to someone charged with a DUI in other businesses.

“If you were done for DUI a couple of times in your business, what would happen to you?” Faldo said. “I got a feeling, as I said, if he disappears and comes back in a couple of months, everything will carry on as normal, and I’m not sure if that’s right, not a good message to the kids of today.”

Ultimately, Faldo said Woods has “avoided accountability” because of “who he is.”

“I don’t know what I’d ask the official bodies to decide, but you would have thought in a normal walk of life there is some accountability for doing that, isn’t there?” Faldo said. “I guess he’s always been a special case, because of who he is and what he’s done, so I suppose he’s avoided that accountability.”

Faldo, who retired as CBS’s lead analyst after the 2022 season, is currently recovering from open-heart surgery he underwent earlier this year.

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