Let the record show that Tiger Woods’ first competitive golf shot in more than a year was a 25-foot birdie putt that came up just … a bit … short. Yes, it was on a hydraulic green in a Palm Beach Gardens arena as part of a TGL indoor golf event … but so what? Tiger Woods is, by the strict definition of the term, back.
Woods, captain of TGL’s Jupiter Links Golf Club—oh, and also a 15-time major winner—returned to competition on Tuesday night, joining his teammates for the second championship match in a best-of-three series. Jupiter Links, which also includes Max Homa and Tom Kim, lost the first match on Monday night to Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala’s LA Golf Club … meaning there was no margin for error on Tuesday night.
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Woods has not played in a PGA Tour event since the 2024 Open Championship, 614 days ago. He competed with son Charlie in the PNC Championship in December 2024, and played in the early rounds of TGL’s first season in the opening weeks of 2025. But on March 11 of last year, he announced he’d undergone Achilles surgery, and seven months later, announced that he’d had back surgery as well.
After watching his team fight its way into the championships, Woods finally decided — “probably yesterday,” he said Tuesday night — to jump in on the action.
“It’s one of those things where I want to contribute to the team,” Woods told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt prior to the match. “I’ve been a cheerleader all these matches, and I want to contribute.”
Woods’ first full swing was a 3-wood that ran 272 virtual yards to land 24 virtual feet from the pin; his teammates would later clean up the hole to claim Jupiter’s first point on the night.
Later, Woods unleashed a vintage stinger to slide his tee shot underneath a virtual rock bridge:
Woods conceded he was going to be “rusty,” and he was, struggling particularly on the greens:
But even prime Tiger might have had trouble against LAGC. (Not really, but ride with us here.) Woods’ Jupiter Links claimed the first two points, and then LA grabbed six to end the nine-hole team portion of the event leading 6-2. Rose claimed a three-point hole on the first singles match, and just like that, LAGC claimed the championship … and Tiger Woods’ comeback was, for now, over.
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“We got our ass kicked in the end,” Woods said, and that was all that he needed to say. “It feels good to be back, but I would have liked to be back under better circumstances.”
Yet to be determined: whether we’ll see Woods again in a couple weeks at Augusta National.
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