U.S. President Donald Trump delivered some breaking news in the golf world, claiming Tiger Woods will not play in the Masters next month.
“I love Tiger but he won’t be there,” Trump said during a phone interview Thursday with Fox News. “He will be there, but he won’t be playing in it.”
Woods, 50, has remained mum about his plans for the April 9-12 tournament at Augusta National due to ongoing health concerns. The five-time Masters champion has not played in an official event since July of 2024.
Earlier this week, there were renewed hopes that Woods might chase his sixth green jacket when he made his TGL season debut for Jupiter Links in Tuesday’s finals.
Woods, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon last spring and underwent lumbar disk replacement surgery in October, was asked about his playing status for the Masters at a TGL match on March 17.
“I’ve been working on it,” he said. “Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun.
“… So as I said, I’ve had a lot of procedures prior to that, so the body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn’t quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it’s hard to just to move around.”
Woods is an 82-time winner on the PGA Tour, tied for the all-time lead with Sam Snead. The World Golf Hall of Famer won his 15th and most recent grand slam title at the 2019 Masters.
