Tiger Woods confirms December tournament appearance as comeback hopes grow
The 15-time major champion has not competed since July 2024 but has offered an encouraging update on his fitness as he targets a return at the Hero World Challenge.
Tiger Woods has confirmed he is targeting a return to action at the invite-only PGA Tour event he hosts annually in the Bahamas.
The 15-time major champion has not played competitively since missing the cut at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Woods missed all of the men's majors in 2025 after rupturing his Achilles and his legion of fans feared the worst when he announced last October that he had undergone yet another surgery on his back - the seventh of his career.
He sparked fresh optimism at the turn of the year by making an appearance in TGL - the indoor golf league he co-founded with Masters champion Rory McIlroy - but his progress was subsequently halted when he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after crashing his Land Rover near his home in Jupiter, Florida.
Woods announced he was "stepping away" to seek treatment and completed a 90-day program in Switzerland.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner, now 50 years old, put his legal woes behind him by accepting a plea deal with prosecutors that saw him give up his driving licence for five years and paying a small fine.
In recent weeks, Woods has been spotted attending charity golf clinics and hitting full shots.
Woods offered an encouraging glimpse of his progress in September when he was seen hitting golf balls at Liberty National in New Jersey during a clinic ahead of the Nexus Cup, an amateur event he hosts to raise funds for his TGR Foundation.
It was the first time he had been publicly seen hitting balls since his car crash in March.
Asked about his game during the clinic, Woods replied: "I can hit pretty much anything."
He was seen practising again in October, when he hosted a clinic alongside fellow PGA Tour professionals Max Homa and Billy Horschel at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in California as part of the Tiger Woods Invitational.
Footage from the event showed Woods hitting a series of full shots, including a low, penetrating stinger.
Yet he refrained from giving any media interviews.
However on Tuesday evening, Woods offered an encouraging update on his fitness, telling an American radio station that he is targeting a return to the course at next month's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
"I'm feeling better," Woods told Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio. "There's no doubt about that.
"I've been training quite a bit. I will be at Hero [World Challenge]."
Woods, who usually travels to the tournament in his yacht, added with a laugh: "I'm there either way [as tournament host]. So I'll see you there."
The latest development also raises hopes that Woods will also make an appearance at the PNC Championship as well.
Woods has made five appearances at the parent/child PGA Tour event alongside his teenage son Charlie.
Tournament organisers are reportedly holding a place for Team Woods.
The pair have come close to winning the hit-and-giggle, finishing runner-up twice, but a win still eludes them.
The 2026 PNC Championship will be played over 19-20 December.
World number one Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama headline the initial field for the 2026 Hero World Challenge, which takes place 3-6 December.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas are among 17 confirmed players, with three places still available.
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