Tiger Woods turns 50 today, December 30, and has spent the entirety of 2025 outside of the professional circuit, having ruptured his Achilles tendon in March and going through his seventh back surgery in September. His last official appearance at a tournament was in July 2024, at the British Open, although he didn't make in the final line-up of the tournament.
However, he never said he was retiring, and is expected to participate in the PGA Tour Champions next year, a circuit reserved for veteran golfers. His presence in the world of golf has been felt outside of the golf courses: he was appointed chairman of the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committe, and is tasked with reinventing the PGA to attract the interest of the fans who switched to LIV Golf, the other private golf circuit funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
In his spectacular career, Woods won 15 major championships, the 1999 Ryder Cup, 82 PGA titles, 683 weeks as world number one, and a streak of 142 tournaments making the cut, most of them between 1997 and 2008. However, his career nearly stumbled when he was involved in a car accident in 2009, an incident that revealed infidelities and led to his divorce. He only won one Major after that, the 2019 Masters Tournament.