How can Tiger Woods ever come back from this?

Just when you thought that Tiger Woods’ life couldn’t be more of a car crash. It turns out to be precisely that. Just when you thought you had heard and read it all. 

How on earth does the 15-time major champion come back from yet another traffic accident where he rolled his car and was subsequently charged with DUI offences? He passed a breath test but refused to submit to a urine test. Draw your own conclusions from that. I know that I have. 

Having gone through long months of rehab after his latest bout of surgery - partly brought on by a similar accident in which he nearly died - he is back at square one. Once again, his mug shot has been plastered over the pages of every newspaper, news broadcast and golf website. And this time there may be no coming back.

I do not pretend to comprehend the pain and discomfort that Woods must endure on a daily basis after his endless surgeries but driving a car while clearly impaired is unforgivable. And, of course, it is not the first time. 

The PGA Tour now has to ask itself some very serious questions. Woods may have been inactive as a competitor but he was appointed head of the Future Competition Committee (FCC) in August 2025 to work on the Tour schedule and help shape the future of the game. That post and that responsibility have surely gone.

I had originally written a very different article. It questioned the social media furore surrounding his possible participation in the Masters and called for him to finally declare his hand over his possible Ryder Cup captaincy.

Will Tiger Woods Play in The Masters?

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

At a stroke, these hopes and dreams lie in tatters, his reputation in the gutter. He will not be at Augusta and surely cannot now be considered as being fit to lead his country into battle at the 2027 Ryder Cup.

What was it about a golfer who hasn’t played a competitive round of golf since missing the cut at the Open in July 2024 and whose world ranking is 3,483?

What was it about a 50-year-old who has an injury-ravaged body? What is it about a golfer who takes part in a meaningless indoor league and lights up social media?

Ever since he refused to rule out a playing appearance at Augusta there had been fevered speculation about his participation. I used to get it but, at the risk of causing uproar, I genuinely no longer do. And I no longer care.

After everything his body has been through I am utterly convinced that he will never win another PGA Tour event, never mind adding to his tally of 15 majors. 

And so what? Despite everything he has left us some spellbinding memories. But the game has moved on and at some point he will surely recognise that - if he doesn’t already do so. Now, we will remember another traffic accident suffered under the influence.

He hit some decent shots in the TGL, including a couple of 300-yard drives, but there was no proper walking involved. There was no pressure, no wind. It is all a very different proposition when set against walking Augusta’s hugely undulating fairways. Who will care now?

This is a man who, having once said he would not play on the Champions Tour, has now indicated that is where his future may lie because they would allow him to use a buggy. 

He admits that he still has days where he struggles horribly with his mobility. If he was a racehorse he would almost certainly have been either put out to pasture or been put down.

But still he generates an excitement that is entirely disproportionate to what he might actually be able to bring to the table.

Did you believe Woods could have won the Masters? Do you even think he would have had any chance of making the cut? 

I don’t care who you are. You cannot just turn up at the Masters without any competitive golf under your belt and expect to be in the mix. And you definitely cannot do it if you are as unfit as he purports to be. And now we will never know.

He clearly still retains massive self-belief and it can be no coincidence that he chose to compete in the league two weeks before the season’s first major. He enjoys tantalising people, leaving them guessing.

Could Tiger Woods Still Be Named Ryder Cup Captain?

There is another issue that needs to be addressed. By all accounts, he was the only man under serious consideration to be named America’s next Ryder Cup captain. That cannot now happen and the PGA of America will have to go back to the drawing board.

The 2027 Ryder Cup is being played at Adare Manor. It is owned by billionaire J.P. McManus, with whom Woods has a close relationship. If he was ever going to be a Ryder Cup captain, you sense that this was his moment.

What was most likely to prevent him is that this is another away Ryder Cup - and the USA have not won on European soil since 1993. Perversely, that could also have been the motivation for him taking on the role.

It looks like Keegan Bradley might be getting another chance after all!