There is no number of jugs that could carry the competitive juices that flow through Tiger Woods’s body.
There are countless instances of when the great man has shown us this, too, not least at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.
Don’t worry. I am conscious that more than enough has been written about Woods ‘winning the US Open on a broken leg’ all those 18 years ago.
Often, Woods has reached the stage where the worst injuries have perversely brought out the most heroism.
A mild cold and a few sniffles? That would only warrant a level-par 70 with a few birdies here and there. Bring on the agony and gut-wrenching muscular spasms, and that’s when you’ll see the Tiger roar.
We lost count of the hours he spent under the knife and the events he missed between that special June and the extraordinary April of 2019, when he won the Masters for the fifth time. Mission Impossible was done again.
But like Tom Cruise, every stunt brings new risk, and despite having lumbar disc replacement surgery in October, he still isn’t ruling out playing at Augusta in under 50 days’ time.
We should treat this statement with caution, but Woods surely won’t be playing at the Masters.
Now that he has turned 50, though, we could see him play on the PGA Tour Champions sooner than we think – the veteran version of the PGA Tour.
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Believe it or not, but there are 30 events on the PGA Tour Champions in 2026. They play for the Charles Schwab Cup at the end of the season, much like PGA Tour players play for the FedEx Cup. There are three playoff events, and the finale features the top 36 players in the season-long standings.
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While the Charles Schwab Cup might not be on Tiger’s bucket list, using this schedule to keep active and competitive is definitely on the table. The events are usually 54 holes, and there is plenty of time for rest in between tournament weeks.
“The disc replacement has been one thing,” he said at this year’s Genesis Invitational.
“I’ve had a fused back and now a disc replacement, so it’s challenging. And now I entered a new decade, so that number is starting to sink in and has us thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart.
“That’s something that, as I said, I won’t do out here on this tour because I don’t believe in it. But on the Champions Tour, there’s certainly that opportunity.”
I have no doubt that Tiger’s determination would take him to the front seat of a buggy, similar to the way boxers in retirement or approaching retirement can’t help but have one more move around the ring under the lights. It’s the buzz that keeps them going, the sight of their names on billboards, or in Woods’s case, on a leaderboard.
Just like with every one of his returns, I will be there watching, even if he is carting down the fairways at 11mph in an E-Z-GO.
We can even give him one of those buggy covers with see-through, plastic zip-up doors for when it rains, and a clip in the middle of the wheel for his scorecard.
I’ll even put a bottle of water in the holder for him, and some free tees and a towel.
This won’t diminish his magnetism that pulls spectators through the gate and to the edge of the ropes. A tournament is a tournament to him, and there is a trophy to be won.
Whether he is teeing it up at the American Family Insurance Championship or The Open Championship, we will be there. No matter what.
Ironically, his participation in the veteran’s tour might take eyes away from the very tour he represents at board level, on which he has won 82 times.
If Tiger is playing in the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational in the same week as Bay Hill, whether that is this season or next, what will you be watching?
It would look undoubtedly strange to see Woods competing on four wheels, not least as it might make the rest of us feel older, let alone the man himself.
But if this is what it takes to extend the career of arguably the greatest ever, to allow us to savour those silky swings for a while longer, then so be it.
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