There wasn’t much golf, in the public eye, for Tiger Woods this year. But he made plenty of headlines on and off the course in 2016.
Tiger Woods has always been stingy when it comes to releasing information about his physical condition (or anything else, for that matter), but where there is no reliable information, rumors sprout up like weeds. So in February when a Twitter account known as “Secret Tour Pro” said that after his back surgeries, Woods spent most of his time lying down and could no longer sit in a chair, Camp Tiger sprang into action. They posted a video of him swinging a 9-iron in a golf simulator. Accompanying the video were the words “Progressing nicely.”
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During Doral week Tiger Woods released a statement saying he has been chipping and putting at home in Florida as his recovery from back surgeries progresses, and that he and his son, Charlie, are competing in three-hole chipping contests. ''The loser has to do pushups,’' Woods wrote on his website. ''My short game feels pretty sharp.’'
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Tiger Woods was on hand for the opening of The Playgrounds at Bluejack National, a family-themed course he helped design near Houston, but an 11-year-old stole the show from the 14-time major champion. As Woods looked on, Taylor Crozier of Corpus Christi holed the inaugural shot on the 81-yard, par 3. Woods ran over to the boy and gave him a bear hug.
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Tiger Woods’ long-term injuries may have been self-inflicted, his former caddie, Steve Williams, said in an interview with the BBC. Williams agreed when the interviewer suggested that Woods’ injuries were caused by his intensive workout routine. “[T]here’s a lot of merit in what you’ve just said,” Williams said. “When he looks back he might question some of the activities he did, some of the gym work he might have done that had all these injuries escalate.”
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In March it was announced that the Tiger Woods Foundation will become the host organization that runs the Los Angeles-area tournament at Riviera, and that Woods will become actively involved in the event. Riviera is where Woods, who grew up about 45 minutes away, made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur. He missed the cut with rounds of 72-75. He last played at Riviera in 2006.
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In early April Woods announced that he would miss his second Masters in the past three years. ''After assessing the present condition of my back, and consulting with my medical team, I’ve decided it’s prudent to miss this year’s Masters,’' Woods said on his website. ''I’ve been hitting balls and training daily, but I’m not physically ready. I’ve said all along that this time I need to be cautious and do what’s best for my long-term health and career. Unfortunately, playing Augusta next week wouldn’t be the right decision.’' Woods did plan to attend the Champions Dinner.
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In late February, Jack Nicklaus hosted Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, the vice captains (including Tiger Woods) and prospective players for dinner at his South Florida home. Nicklaus said he thought Woods looked great physically, and that Woods told him he was able to putt and chip without feeling any pain.
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Jack Nicklaus said he was surprised that Tiger Woods isn’t playing the Masters. ''I’m very surprised he’s not here,’' Nicklaus said before going to the Champions Dinner at Augusta National, where he would see Woods. ''Maybe he’s not ready. But he’s too good of a talent not to win. I don’t think he’s done. I think Tiger is going to win more tournaments.’'
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In April, Tiger Woods showed up for a clinic at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in South Carolina – suspiciously close to Augusta National – and was hitting drivers on the range. It marked the first time he’d been seen hitting balls in public since he last played a Tour event in August 2015.
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In April, Tiger Woods played five holes during the official opening of Bluejack National, the golf course he designed outside Houston. He said it was the first time he had played any golf holes since the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. He also said there was no timetable for his return to the PGA Tour.
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While promoting his upcoming PGA Tour event, the Quicken Loans National, Woods rinsed three balls while trying to hit a ceremonial shot to the par-3 10th hole at Congressional. “I’m hoping to play,’' Woods said. ''That’s the overriding question I keep hearing: When are you coming back, when are you playing? I get it all the time. If I knew, I’d tell, you, because it’d be fun to know.’'
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Tiger Woods announced in June that he will write a book looking back on his historic 1997 Masters win. Plans were for the yet-untitled book to be co-written with Canadian golf writer Lorne Rubenstein and be released in March 2017, a month before the 20th anniversary of Woods’ first Masters title.
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Tiger Woods said on his website that he is not ready for tournament competition and will skip the U.S. Open at Oakmont, along with his Quicken Loans National the following week at Congressional. It marks the third time in the past six years that Woods has not played in the U.S. Open.
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The R&A’s announcement that Tiger Woods will not play in The Open marked the first time Woods has sat out three majors in one year. It also marked only the third time Woods will have missed The Open (he didn’t play in 2008 or 2011, both times because of injuries).
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When Tiger Woods withdrew from the PGA Championship, it marked the first time he would go an entire year without playing a major. It also meant that he would go an entire PGA Tour season without playing.
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Tiger Woods said if his rehabilitation from back surgeries keeps going well, he would play the Safeway Open, the opening event of the wraparound PGA Tour season in Napa, Calif., in October. Woods also said he intends to play in the Turkish Airlines Open the first weekend in November and his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the first week of December.
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U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III credited vice captain Tiger Woods with making a key decision during the second day of the matches. Love said Woods talked him out of resting Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth during the afternoon session. Reed and Spieth edged Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in the day’s last match.
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U.S. Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker named Tiger Woods as one of his three assistants for the 2017 matches. Woods was an assistant to Davis Love III Love at Hazeltine when the U.S. won the Ryder Cup over Europe the previous week.
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The PGA Tour announced that Tiger Woods will make his long-awaited return to competitive golf at the Safeway Open Oct. 13-16 at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif.
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Tiger Woods withdrew from the Safeway Open, writing on his website that his game feels “vulnerable.” Woods also said he will not go through with an intended start at the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open in November. He said he does intend to play in the Hero World Challenge, run by his foundation, in the Bahamas in December.
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A day after withdrawing from the Safeway Open, Tiger Woods put on a show for fans at a clinic. Woods hit balls at Monterey Peninsula Country Club as part of a charity tournament and outing benefiting his foundation.
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Tiger Woods said “I’ll be there [at the Hero World Challenge]. I’m playing,” while appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Colbert had asked when fans should expect Woods to make his comeback after he withdrew from the Safeway Open and pulled out of the Turkish Airlines Open. Woods also explained why he withdrew from the Safeway: “My game is coming, it’s getting there. I’m not quite there where I feel like I can shoot 63s and -4s in tournaments,” Woods said. “I’m shooting low rounds at home, but I just don’t feel it’s quite ready to shoot those types of scores under tournament conditions.”
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In the same interview with Colbert, Woods revealed an addiction to a certain video game: “I applied my same intensity and my craft, my focus, to Call of Duty. Don’t laugh! I would spend eight hours a day, I took a 30-minute lunch break,” Woods said. “I thought I was getting good and then I went online. When 7-year-olds from around the world are beating you ... humbling.”
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In December Forbes published a list of America’s wealthiest celebrities. Woods checked in at No. 7, with a net worth estimated at $740 million.
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Tiger Woods showed off a white goatee in a shirtless photo , saying it’s a Christmas tradition for his kids. Then, still sporting the white facial hair, he played 18 holes with President-elect Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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In December, Bridgestone Golf said it has signed Woods to a multiyear agreement to play and promote its B333-S golf ball. Woods had used Nike golf balls, but the company has stopped making and selling golf equipment.
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After an absence of nearly 16 months, Tiger Woods returned to competition on the PGA Tour, finishing 15th in a field of 17 in his Hero World Challenge. Woods led the field in birdies (24), but he also led in double bogeys (six). “I am just so thankful to be back out here playing again,” Woods said. After Nike got out of the golf equipment business, Woods switched to a TaylorMade driver and fairway woods and went back to his Scotty Cameron putter.
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