Tiger Woods is out of The Masters, confirms Donald Trump

American president Donald Trump has claimed Tiger Woods will not play in the 2026 Masters Tournament. 

The 15-time major champion, who turned 50 last December, has struggled with a series of injuries over the last two years. 

He ruptured his Achilles last March whilst training at home and had a seventh surgery on his back five months ago. 

Woods made his latest comeback to the sport earlier in the week with an appearance in the indoor golf league he co-founded with Rory McIlroy. 

Although he looked in good physical condition in the TGL final, which his team Jupiter Links lost 9-2, the golfer was noncommittal on his Masters prospects. 

Woods only hit nine shots and playing simulator golf is a far cry from the difficult task of walking 72 holes at Augusta, a venue where he has slipped on the green jacket five times during his illustrious career. 

"I've been trying, this body doesn't recover like it did when I was 24, 25," said Woods. "It doesn't mean I'm not trying. I've been trying for a while.

"I've had a couple of bad injuries last year that I've had to fight through and has taken some time. I keep trying - I want to play.

"I've loved the Masters tournament, I've loved being there since I was 19 years old, so it's meant a lot to me and my family over the years and I'm going to be there either way."

Woods was referencing that he is helping design a new, smaller public course near Augusta as part of a redevelopment project.

The first men's major of the year begins on 9 April. 

During a brief radio interview with Fox News, see below, Trump appeared to let slip whether or not Woods would make it to the first tee at the 2026 Masters.

"I love Tiger but he won't be there," said Trump. "He'll be there, but he won't be playing in it."

Woods is currently in a relationship with Vanessa Trump, who was married to the eldest son of the POTUS from 2005 until their divorce in 2018.

Woods has been reduced to limited appearances since sustaining serious injuries in a car crash in February 2021. 

After that incident, Woods made a sensational return to major championship golf 14 months later at the 2022 Masters.

It was all the more astonishing given he revealed that there was a 50 per cent chance his right leg needed to be amputated.  

Woods made the cut but looked in visible anguish over the weekend. That year, Woods also participated in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills but withdrew after the third round through injury. 

Former world number one, Jason Day, claimed that one of the screws from that surgery actually pushed through Woods's skin while he was competing. 

It led to Woods having to go under the knife again for a subtalar fusion procedure on his right ankle.

Woods also missed the cut at the landmark 150th Open Championship at St Andrews. He was reduced to tears at the Swilcan Bridge and some suggested he was saying farewell. 

Yet in 2023, Woods teed up at The Masters again and made the cut, extending his streak to 23 consecutive cuts made at Augusta. He did not play in the other three majors. 

A year later, Woods played in all four major championships but only made one cut, at The Masters again, and laboured to a last place finish.

Woods did not play in any majors in 2025. 

Over the past 12 months, Woods has been heavily involved in the PGA Tour's boardroom. 

Alongside being a member of the Tour's policy board, Woods is the chairman of the future competition committee, charged with re-shaping the PGA Tour and how it operates. 

He has also been mulling over whether or not to accept the 2027 United States Ryder Cup captaincy.