Tiger Woods was limited to the role of tournament host at the Hero World Challenge due to injury, with uncertainty remaining over his future and what his schedule will look like in the years ahead.
Woods has played a limited schedule since suffering career-threatening injuries in a car crash in February 2021, completing a full 72-hole tournament just four times over the past five years.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner missed the entire major season after rupturing his Achilles in March, then underwent disc replacement in October - at least the seventh back surgery he has had during his career.
Woods admitted recovery from his latest injury setback is going "not as fast" as he hoped, leaving him unable to feature at the 20-man event benefiting his foundation and - as of December 8 - only cleared by doctors to chip and putt.
"It [surgery] was a good thing to do, something I needed to have happen and it just takes time and dedication to the rehab process," Woods said in the Bahamas. "It [recovery] is not as fast as I'd like it to be.
"Not able to do much on a disc replacement to let it set. Can't really do much. Now we got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym, started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven't been able to do."
Woods has made multiple injury comebacks over his lengthy career, with 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of him turning professional, but it remains unclear when fans will next see him back on the golf course.
Woods has previously described the PNC Championship as his 'fifth major' with the 36-hole team competition seeing a former winner of a major or The Players tee it up alongside a family member.
The former world No 1 has featured in every edition since 2020 with his son, Charlie Woods, who fired a hole-in-one during last year's contest before they lost in a play-off to Bernhard Langer's team.
Team Woods have regularly been among the last of the entries confirmed, based on his fitness and availability, although will sit out of the 2025 edition - live from December 16-17 on Your Site Golf - at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Florida.
"No, it wouldn't be fair [to play]," Woods admitted. "Not only it wouldn't be fair to my son, but it wouldn't be fair to another team that could play and could have that experience that we've had for a number of years."
Jupiter Links GC failed to reach the season-ending play-offs in the inaugural TGL, an indoor tech-infused golf league featuring PGA Tour players, with Woods' team losing four of their five matches.
Woods played in three of the four losses and is part of the roster for the 2026 season, starting December 28 and live on Your Site, although has already ruled himself out of early matches.
"I won't be able to play in the first part of the TGL season but I will be there at every match that Jupiter Links competes in," Woods insisted.
"Now, hopefully I will be able to maybe play at the end of the season here and there, but I don't know. I've got to hit more shots than just chip and putt in TGL - there's a few drives I might have to hit."
Jupiter Links GC play New York Golf Club on January 13 (January 14, 12am UK time), Los Angeles Golf Club on January 21 (January 20, 12am UK time) and Atlanta Drive GC on February 2 (10pm UK time), before two matches in the first week of March.
Woods turning 50 on December 30 frees him up to play on the PGA Tour Champions from next season, giving him the option to play events on either circuit once he has recovered from injury.
The five-time Masters champion has only played 10 events or more in a calendar year twice over the past 10 seasons, with Woods still unsure on what is schedule will look like going forward.
"I'm probably going to play probably 25 events on both tours and I think that should cover most of the year, right?" Woods joked to reporters. "I'm just looking forward to just let me get back to playing again.
"Let me do that and then I'll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be. I'm a way away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level.
"Unfortunately, I've been through this rehab process before, it's just step by step. Once I get a feel for practising, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I'm going to play and how much I'll play."
Woods made the Genesis Invitational his first start of the season in both 2023 and 2024, although the fact he has ruled himself out of early TGL matches would suggest it's unlikely he will be fit to feature at the Riviera Country Club from February 19-22.
The PGA Tour Champions is another option for Woods to return, where he could use a golf cart during regular-season events, while the Florida Swing - across March on the PGA Tour - is close to his home and where he has previously enjoyed success.
"I need time to figure this out with my back and with my body," Woods explained. "As I start to get more explosive and start to rotate and see what I've got, then I can find out or assess what tournaments I could play in, how much I should play, where I would like to play.
"I really haven't gone in depth of what the schedule looks like on the Champions Tour except for a few tournaments."
Woods said ahead of The Masters in 2024 that he feels he can add to his major tally 'if everything comes together', although finished last of those who made the cut that year before making early exits at the PGA Championship, US Open and The Open.
He hasn't been seen at a tournament offering world ranking points since the missed cut at The Open in July 2024, while his last major top-20 finish came during his memorable 2019 win at The Masters.
Woods has lifetime exemptions to The Masters and the PGA Championship, plus can feature at The Open annually for another decade. He is currently ineligible for the US Open but the USGA have previously offered a special exemption for Woods, should he feel physical ready to compete.
Throw in the possibility of senior majors in 2026 and there are even more opportunities than ever for Woods to make his latest return. The sporting world watches on with interest to see if - or hopefully when - that will happen.
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