Is Tiger Woods Playing at The Open 2025 in Royal Portrush?
The countdown begins to The Open Championship 2025. With big names coming to fight for the Claret Jug, fans are looking forward to seeing Tiger Woods in action too. After all, he is exempt until 2035. Yeah, he is eligible to play the Open until he’s 60. But the choice of doing so remains with him. Let’s take a look at whether Tiger Woods is coming to Northern Ireland or not.
Woods’s 2024 wasn’t great. He participated in all four majors, missing the cut in three except the Masters. At Royal Troon last year, when asked if he’d play at the Royal Portrush, he said, “Yeah, definitely. Okay, sorry. That’s a year away.” But his recent Achilles injury ruptured his plans of playing this year. Just so you know, he has not played in any majors this year. He did compete on TGL, though, and was set to play at Genesis, but when the tournament rolled in, he was recovering from his mother’s demise. Then, he ruptured his Achilles tendon while training for the Masters, and it ended his 2025 season.
Tiger Woods has dealt with several injuries over the years, including problems with his knees and back that required multiple surgeries. In 2021, he was seriously injured in a car accident, which led to a long recovery and raised questions about his future in golf. Despite these challenges, he has made several comebacks, although his time on the course has been limited. These injuries have made it harder for him to play regularly and perform at his best. Of course, his recent outings have also drawn attention.
He was recently seen in public supporting his son, Charlie, at the Florida Amateur Championship. He witnessed the game while following him in a golf cart. The 49-year-old golf legend appeared noticeably slimmer.
Given Tiger Woods’s continued battle with injuries and his visibly weakened physical condition, speculation about a return remains uncertain, but there is still a fair chance of Woods playing at major championships, as Woods remarked in 2024 after the US Open, “As far as my last Open Championship or US Open Championship, I don’t know what that is. It may or may not be.” But it is hard to point out when.
Tiger Woods’s Achilles Tendon Recovery Can Stretch Until 2026
The Achilles tendon rupture that prevented Tiger Woods from playing at the Open this year might keep him out for the remainder of 2025. The US’s National Library of Medicine says an Achilles tendon can take 4 to 6 months to fully recover. Rory McIlroy has also shared his views on Woods’s injury. In an interview with Cameron Jourdan, Rory said, “We obviously won’t see him play golf this year, and hopefully we see him maybe play in 2026.”
Rory McIlroy on Tiger’s injury: “We obviously won’t see him play golf this year, and hopefully we see him maybe play in 2026.” pic.twitter.com/5AtFgpUoE6
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) March 12, 2025
Woods claimed that he felt a sharp pain in his left Achilles while training at home. Dr. Charlton Stucken of the Hospital for Special Surgery performed a minimally invasive surgery on the ruptured tendon. “The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,” added Dr. Stucken. This is not the first injury endured by Woods, suffering 21 injuries in the past 23 years.
The 2025 edition of the Open Championship is geared up for one of the finest lineups yet. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods is not one of them. Who are you going to be rooting for at Royal Potrush?
