Tiger Woods Won’t Return to Golf if He Can’t Play Well, Justin Thomas Says

AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File

While Tiger Woods hasn’t publicly addressed when he might return to the PGA Tour, at least one of his friends on the circuit has an idea of what it would take to get the 15-time major champion back on the fairways. 

Appearing on the No Laying Up podcast (h/t ESPN’s Bob Harig), Justin Thomas said he can’t see Woods ever playing again if he’s unable to return to a decent standard 

“I don’t see him ever playing if he can’t play well,” Thomas explained. “He doesn’t strike me as a guy who’s played at home and he’s shooting a bunch of 75s and 76s and he’s like ‘OK, I’m gonna give Augusta a try this year.’ That’s not really gonna be him, at least from my understanding, what I know of him.”

Woods was involved in a single-car accident on Feb. 23 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. He announced on Twitter that he had to undergo “a long surgical procedure” to repair the damage in his right leg, including a compound fracture to his tibia and a fractured fibula. 

Last month, TMZ Sports reported Woods was seen walking without crutches or a limp at a junior golf tournament in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he was watching his son, Charlie, play. 

Per Steve Helling and Lindsay Kimble of PEOPLE Magazine, Woods has “made a remarkable recovery in the past few months” and it’s been “even more significant lately.”

Helling and Kimble noted that Woods has “a timeframe in his head” when he wants to return, but he’s not making it public.

Woods’ last appearance in a PGA Tour event was at the Masters in November 2020. He finished 38th in the tournament. 

The 2021-22 PGA Tour schedule began in September. Woods annually hosts the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, which will be played from Dec. 2-5. He has played in the tournament each of the last three years that it has been held.