Why isn't Tiger Woods playing The Masters in 2025? Injury stops 5-time champ

As a five-time winner at Augusta National, it's hard to separate Tiger Woods from The Masters. That's for good reason, though. Beyond the hand's worth of victories on the storied track and golf's most vaunted major championship, The Masters was the site of Tiger's breakout in 1997, the completion of the Tiger Slam in 2001, going back-to-back in 2002, one of the best finishes in golf history in 2005 and arguably the best comeback story ever in the sport in 2019.

The red polo on Sunday at Augusta is an indelible image that golf fans have seared into their brain and one that most look forward to annually. Even with 2019 still fresh in our minds, the expectations have changed. At this point, just watching him navigate the course to extend his made cut streak at The Masters as a professional is worth your time.

Unfortunately, Tiger won't have that opportunity at The Masters in 2025 as Woods won't be teeing it up at Augusta this year. That's not breaking news, but some golf fans who haven't been locked in might be wondering why Tiger Woods won't be playing at The Masters this year.

Tiger Woods injury forced him to withdraw from The Masters

On March 11, roughly a month before the start of the 2025 Masters, Woods released a statement informing everyone that he'd be unable to compete at Augusta after rupturing his Achilles while training to be able to tee it up for the first major of the year.

"As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured.

"This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. 'The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,' added Dr. Stucken.

"I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support."

Prior to the announcement of the Achilles injury, there had been speculation that Woods could not only play at The Masters but may also potentially tee it up at THE PLAYERS Championship as Tiger had previously stated wanted to get some tournament reps before playing at Augusta. The injury obviously nullified that chance and left us without one of the game's all-time greats playing this week.

Tiger Woods recent history at The Masters

Tiger obviously was also unable to compete in the 2021 Masters Tournament as well as it was held just several weeks after the horrific car accident that causes massive damage to his leg, an injury and ailment he still has to cope with to this day. That was devastating to see just two years after his historic win and following the November tournament in 2020 that was postponed to the fall because of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the weather played a big factor in the 2023 Masters Tournament with gusting winds, cold and rainy conditions throughout the tournament. As Woods battled his own body to just compete in that year's tournament, he played good enough to make the cut but the weather would've forced him to have to start his third round after. Unable to withstand that physical toll, he withdrew.

Will Tiger Woods be able to play The Masters in 2026?

Tiger Woods playing The Masters next year in 2026 is honestly up in the air at this point. Achilles injuries take an inordinately long time to recover for in any sport, golf included. The force and turn put on the tendon with each swing can't be understated, so the recovery for Woods could take quite a while just based on that alone.

Furthermore, Tiger has long said, though to decreasing levels of believability in recent years, that he's only going to play if he believes that he can win. That certainly would complicate a return from an Achilles injury to play in 2026. Even if Woods is able to be deemed fully healthy before then, the amount of time to practice and get back into tournament shape with both his body and swing could be quite difficult to overcome.

Our best guess is that Tiger Woods won't play in The Masters next year. But it's Tiger, so never say never.