Tiger Woods was looking forward to participating in the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie, before his back surgery in September 2024.

During the Open in July, Woods expressed his excitement about teaming up with his son in the Father/Son tournament, affectionately referring to it as their “fifth major.” However, his plans were put on hold after he underwent microdiscectomy surgery to relieve nerve impingement in his lower back and alleviate back spasms.

“No, I’m not going to play until then. I’m going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it. Hopefully just come back for our — what is it, our fifth major, the Father/Son, so looking forward to it”, he had said.  Woods has been focused on his recovery, with an expected timeline of 8-12 weeks. He’s not scheduled to play again until the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on December 5-8, followed by the PNC Championship with Charlie on December 21-22 in Orlando, Florida.

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“It remains unclear if Tiger will play the Hero World Challenge. It’s getting late for the announcement of the 3 promised exemptions. The TaylorMade shoot appears to be this coming week in Florida so he will definitely be involved in that”, read the latest post by TW LEGION. Woods has confirmed that he won’t be playing any tournaments before the Hero World Challenge, instead choosing to prioritize his physical rehabilitation and preparation for his return to competitive golf.

The PNC Championship is still finalizing its list of competitors, and this year’s event has undergone a few notable changes, including a shift in its timing, with the tournament taking place a week later than in previous years, which is likely to create some scheduling conflicts, particularly given its proximity to the TGL dates in January, an event that is expected to feature the legendary Tiger Woods in action, setting the stage for an exciting and potentially complicated golf calendar.

Tiger Woods and his then 14-year-old son Charlie returned to the PNC Championship in 2023, competing in the golf tournament that features major champions and their family members for the fourth time. The father-son duo was spotted on the course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on a Friday for a pro-am ahead of the official start of the tournament. Charlie left his dad in awe with an impressive flop shot during warm-ups, prompting Woods to exclaim, “We’re ending on that one right there. That was nasty!”

Woods and Charlie had previously found success in the PNC Championship, finishing as high as second place in 2021, and setting a tournament record with 11 consecutive birdies that year. Charlie had recently won a state championship as a high school student, showcasing his growing skills on the course. Woods, meanwhile, was competing in just his fourth event that year after undergoing ankle surgery in April, marking a significant milestone in his recovery and return to competitive golf.

When will Tiger Woods come back?

That seems to be the question that is plaguing the minds of many golf fans around the world right now. But that question seemed to have gotten an unfortunate answer of sorts, all thanks to the field that was announced recently by the PNC Championship. Couple that with the 17-man field of the Hero World Challenge that was released back in October, and it’s almost certain that the golfer won’t be teeing up this year anymore. But no worries, the 15-time major champ, still has a chance to make it back to the field for the event in Albany.

The Hero World Challenge is set to kick off on December 5, Thursday, and will go on till December 8, Sunday. There are just two weeks left until the start of the Tiger Woods-hosted tournament. Interestingly, the event has yet to announce the three golfers who will be teeing it up with the rest of the field in the Bahamas. The chances are there that one of those three could be Woods as he staged his comeback for the HWC in the past as well.

READ: PGA Tour legend to debut at PNC Championship, not Tiger Woods

As of now, only a total of 17 golfers have been confirmed for the 20-man event. They include the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Aaron Rai, Billy Horschel, Matthieu Pavon, and Akshay Bhatia. Yes, you counted that right! Three more names are remaining for the number to reach 20!

Why isn’t Tiger Woods in the field? Well, we can only assume it’s due to the recent microdecompression surgery that he had to undergo back in September. It was done so to relieve the nerve impingement in his lumbar spine. Back then, he had revealed through his X handle that Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi of the Hospital of Special Surgery had performed the surgery to remedy the back pain that had plagued him throughout the season.

“The surgery went smoothly,” divulged Woods back in September. “I’m hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.” Maybe he hasn’t recovered as much as his fans had expected him to. And that might be why he isn’t yet on the list of teams that are set to tee off at the PNC Championship in December.

The PNC Championship recently released the teams who would be teeing it up at the PGA Tour Champions event in December. Unfortunately, out of the 18 teams that were confirmed, the father-son duo of Tiger Woods and Charlie Woods were not seen anywhere. But there seems to be yet hope for the legendary golfer and his son, for two spots remain in the 2024 edition of the event, which would be confirmed soon enough. The only question is whether the 48-year-old and his son would take the same.

But in the unfortunate of cases, if the golfer fails to make a comeback in both of these events, then the fans will only be able to catch him in TGL. Yes, that’s right. The same tech-infused league created by none other than Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will kick off in January 2025. So Tiger Woods fans, keep your hopes up for the time being!

The 2021 car accident was the most brutal one that left Tiger Woods with many injuries.

After this one particular incident, the 48-year-old pro’s career was practically on a halt. Since then, Woods has undergone many surgeries to return to golf as he has always been. However, that part has been difficult, to say the least. Following his injuries, Woods always wore a leg sleeve to hide the scar and support his right leg. In July, though, the 82-time PGA Tour winner was spotted without one as he accompanied his son, Charlie Woods, at the US Junior Amateur.

It was expected that at least for now, Woods wouldn’t undergo another procedure. However, in September the 15-time major winner went through microdiscectomy, his sixth back surgery in the past decade. And it seems he has been recovering off the course as he missed the annual TW Invitational and TGR Jr. Invitational in October. Nonetheless, Woods was seen once again with Charlie Woods as the 15-year-old golfer competed at the Florida state championships.

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This time, Woods had the leg sleeves again and the fans noticed that he was looking thinner and a bit pale. But, has he recovered enough to play the PNC Championship and the Hero World Challenge? The recovery period after microdiscectomy is usually 12 weeks and it has been only 11 weeks since Woods’s surgery. But seeing Woods’s condition, and accounting that his body has gone through way more than just one procedure, it may take more time for the 48-year-old to recover. Thus, it may not be feasible for the 15-time major winner to compete in both events.

Woods played the Hero World Challenge for the first time since his accident in 2023. On the other hand, he has not missed a single edition of the PNC Championship. But as other pairs have confirmed their seats at the event and the PGA Tour star still has not, it is possible that he may not play the event this year. There are at least three weeks for the Hero World Challenge to start and nearly a month for the PNC Championship. Who knows, the 5-time Masters winner may change his plans and tee up at both tournaments.

Last year, Tiger Woods did exactly that, he played the Hero World Challenge and finished 18th in the 20 pro field and after two weeks teed up at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. He took a break from golf and then participated in the Genesis Invitational in February where his body was following as he would have expected. If Woods takes the risk to play two events, he may injure his back more.

How so? The subtalar joint in Woods’s right ankle has to be fused because of his accident and although it isn’t responsible for up & down movement, that joint allows the side-to-side movement. Since the 48-year-old has lost that ability in his ankle, the brunt of this pressure comes to his hips and subsequently, to his back as Robert Forster, Santa Monica-based physical therapist noted.

He underwent the microdecompression because of the pinched nerves, if he continues to have an active schedule throughout the year, this may become an issue for his back again. As Woods expressed last year, “I’m always sore. There’s nothing new there!” Hopefully, he will recover soon and play more events.

Charlie Woods, son of legendary golfer Tiger Woods, wrapped up his first round of the Class 1A Florida high school state championship on Tuesday at Howey-in-the-Hills.

Woods shot a 78, six shots over par, finishing with the 55th-best individual mark at states

Defending state champion Benjamin golf, composed of Woods and teammates Pavel Tsar, Andrew Tsar, Brooks Colton, and Jake Valentine, ended the first day in a three-way tie for 9th place with Lake Mary Prep and Lake Highland Prep.

READ: Tiger Woods and Ex-Wife Elin Nordegren Spotted Chatting at Son Charlie’s Golf Tournament

Woods shot a birdie on the 14th hole, a par 5, while bogeying on holes 7, 8, and 15.

He ran into some trouble on the 5th and 17th holes and ended those with double bogeys.

Entering state play, Woods tied four golfers for sixth place with a 71 at the regional championship. He, along with the other Benjamin golfers, are back at states trying to defend their Class 1A state title, though the first day leaves the Buccaneers with some ground to make up on Wednesday.