On Dec. 30, Tiger Woods, in the two-man discussion along with Jack Nicklaus as to the greatest golfer of all time, turns 50. Where does he go from here?
At 2-years-old, wearing a white golf shirt, beige shorts and with a back swing that nearly scraped the ground, Tiger Woods was introduced to the world on "The Mike Douglas Show."
At 18, sporting an oversized shirt with thick pale orange stripes and a wide-brimmed straw hat with a black band, Tiger Woods won the U.S. Amateur at TPC Sawgrass.
At 21, in a bright red Nike shirt and black pants, Tiger Woods won his first major championship, the 1997 Masters.
At 43, donned in the same colors as 22 years prior, Tiger Woods won his most recent major championship, the 2019 Masters, marking his fifth Green Jacket.
On Dec. 30, Tiger Woods, one of two golfers in the debate, along with Jack Nicklaus, over who is the greatest of all time, and whose legendary Hall of Fame career still is accompanied by "what ifs," turns 50.
"I can't believe he's 50," Gary Woodland said. "Tiger's impact obviously in the game of golf is amazing. We're all here because of him, and he's pushed all of us to be better on the golf course and what he's done off the golf course has made us all want to have a bigger impact off the course as well."
The numbers are off the charts. From his 15 major championships, to 82 PGA Tour wins, to 142 consecutive cuts, to 683 weeks as No. 1 in the world - to an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion - the Jupiter Island resident has carved a legacy that transcends golf.
And he's a global icon. His international fame rivals Muhammad Ali, Pele and Michael Jordan when it comes to athletes.
The focus and competitiveness is legendary. The talent is otherworldly. Fred Couples, a 15-time PGA Tour winner and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has continued to play practice rounds with Tiger at Augusta National the years Tiger plays the Masters.
And even as recently as 2024, the year Tiger made the cut at the Masters for the 24th consecutive season, breaking the mark held by Couples and Gary Player, Couples was in awe.
"When we walk off the course, seriously, I mean, I love him like a brother, I said 'You're a joke,' " Couples, 66, said. "It's so pure. But still, when you walk off, you go, 'Oh, my God.'
"Tiger's just a guy that you just stare at. He just hits the ball at such a different pace. There are other guys that hit it pure, too. But when it came down to a Sunday tee time, he just overpowered everybody. You know you wouldn't beat him. And if you did, everyone ran and raved on your accomplishment."
How many majors would Tiger have won if healthy? 20? More?
Tiger's story cannot be told without the heartaches, some self-inflicted and others a product of a body that has been breaking down for nearly two decades.
Tiger has overcome seven back surgeries (the most recent a disc replacement in October), at least two operations on his Achilles (the most recent in March), and multiple knee procedures. Along with issues with his neck, oblique, elbow and ankle.
The number of surgeries is around 20, not including several procedures following a 2021 car crash in which he nearly lost his right leg.
Those health issues, along with a high-profile divorce forced by several admitted infidelities, led to an 11-year drought when it came to major championships.
Tiger's first 14 wins in the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open came from 1997-2008. Then, from the 2008 U.S. Open, which he famously won playing with a double stress fracture in his left leg and torn ACL, until the 2019 Masters, Tiger played 28 majors with no wins.
Since, he has entered 14, missing the cut in seven and withdrawing once.
But that one major win — the 2019 Masters — in the last 17 years was magical.
"At some point most everybody, kind of counted him out, 'We won't see him win again,' " Jupiter's Matt Kuchar said. "And then he wins again. And then he wins a Masters. I was certainly in the camp. I never thought we'd see him win again and he wins the Masters after that."
Bernhard Langer, the top winner on the PGA Tour Champions, credits Tiger's focus under pressure.
"If he had been healthy, there were no limits," said Langer, who lives in Boca Raton. "He was just extremely focused. He knew what he wanted to do and he went out to do it.
"And he was probably better under pressure than anybody. Maybe Nicklaus was similar. Whenever he had a lead after three rounds, he pretty much won. Not many people can say that, if any."
Tiger is 55–4 when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes on the PGA Tour.
That 2019 Masters was Tiger's 15th major championship, drawing him to within three of Nicklaus' record. Walter Hagen is next with 11.
The question is not if he would have surpassed Nicklaus had he remained healthy, but by how much.
Tiger has entered 19 majors since turning 40. Nicklaus entered 84 after his 40th birthday, more than half of his record 164 majors.
And from age 32 to 41, Tiger did not win a major, missing 14 times. Nicklaus won eight majors from age 32 to 41.
"If he was perfectly healthy, he would have 25 majors and probably 110 PGA Tour wins," Couples said. "He's just a machine. He's so good. He was so much better than everyone else."
David Duval had a simple answer to how Tiger's legacy would be different had his body cooperated.
"My guess would be there wouldn't be a discussion as to the greatest player of all time," Duval said. "That's the easiest way to answer it."
O'Meara, Immelman thankful for friendship, competition with Tiger
Tiger has a longstanding friendship with Mark O'Meara that goes back to when Tiger joined the tour. O'Meara, 68, was a mentor, playing many practice rounds with the, then, Whiz Kid.
One of O'Meara's lasting memories of his Hall of Fame career was winning the 1998 Masters, the year after Tiger won at Augusta, which was his first major.
"Having him put the Green Jacket on me, I mean, that's a dream come true," O'Meara said.
The second of O'Meara's two major championships came three months later at the British Open at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. O'Meara won a playoff over Brian Watts. They finished one shot ahead of Tiger.
"At that time, I had two majors. He had one," O'Meara said. "Obviously, that didn't last very long."
O'Meara also recalled winning the 1999 World Cup of Golf in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while being paired with Tiger.
After Tiger carried the team for the first nine holes of the final round, O'Meara overheard Tiger's caddie, Steve Williams, telling his caddie he had to get O'Meara going.
"I said 'Hey, I've totally got this under control,' " O'Meara said. So O'Meara called over Tiger.
"I said, 'Well, obviously I just shot 41 on the front side and the Spaniards have gone by us.' I said, 'You know what, Tiger? You need to start playing better.'
"Tiger's like, 'OK.' He birdies 10, 11, 12, 13, and I make a couple birdies. Next thing you know we've blown by them and we get on like the 15th hole and I look at Steve Williams. I said, 'See, I told you I know how to handle this situation.' "
Trevor Immelman is one of seven golfers to hand Tiger a runner-up finish at a major championship. Immelman, the current lead golf analyst for CBS Sports, won his only major at the 2008 Masters, finishing 8-under, three shots ahead of Tiger.
Immelman led or was tied for the lead after each round and entered the final day with a six-shot lead over Tiger, who was fifth. Immelman shot a 75 on a blustery day, closing at 280.
"It gets better and better as the years roll on," Immelman said. "I've been fortunate enough to be good friends with Tiger for many years. Every time I see him I give him a hard time about it."
Immelman never obsessed over who was chasing him that day because of the conditions. Wind gusts exceeded 30 mph.
"Because that course calls for you to be so precise on approach with your distance control, the wind blowing that much really caused quite a lot of havoc out there," he said. "Every shot was just a disaster waiting to happen, so it really kept me in the moment just trying to put one foot in front of the other and keep grinding out pars."
Immelman's only other win on the PGA Tour was the 2006 Western Open, by two shots over … Tiger Woods.
"So very thankful for how he changed our game," Immelman said. "I've always told my kids if you're going to send one Christmas card every year, you better send it to Tiger because without him we would be in a different situation."
Is PGA Tour Champions in Tiger Woods' future?
For Tiger, the immediate question is how much golf does he have left? How much can a broken body handle once it passes the half-century mark?
Does he soon decide enough is enough, and concentrate solely on his charity, TGR Foundation, and business ventures?
And if he choses the grind of rehab and hitting the range, could he emerge on another platform?
Few have had a career rejuvenated by the PGA Tour Champions like Langer. The 68-year-old joined the 50-and-older senior circuit in 2007 and has won 47 times, passing Hale Irvin's record of 45. He won three times on the PGA Tour, including two majors, the 1985 and 1993 Masters.
"Well, that's what it comes down to, does he want to play? Does he want to compete?" Langer said. "It's certainly a great tour, it's competitive, it's in good places. But the question is what are his goals, what does he want."
Tiger always has hinted the Tour Champions could be in his future. Veterans of the senior circuit, such as Nicklaus and Player, have suggested Tiger could benefit from joining the tour.
"We would love for him to play and I hope he decides to," said Jupiter's Justin Leonard, who joined three years ago and has two senior tour victories.
"I can't see him playing a super full schedule, but if he could play to where he can go be competitive, the way he wants to be when he plays regular tour events, then come out, see if he can beat us some more."
Tiger was asked about that possibility in early December at his event in the Bahamas but used his health to evade the question. At that time, he had just started chipping and putting after his disc replacement surgery two months prior.
"Let me get back to playing again, then I'll try to figure out what the schedule will be," he said. "I'm way away from that type of decision and that type of commitment level."
Tiger's surgery will prevent him from playing at least the start of TGL, the indoor golf league in Palm Beach Gardens he co-founded with Rory McIlroy and is entering its second season.
As much as Tiger would be an off-the-charts boon to the senior tour, he may need the Tour Champions as much as the Tour Champions needs him.
Tiger's ideal PGA Tour schedule moving forward appears to be the four majors and the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts. TGR Foundation is the primary beneficiary of the Genesis.
Playing on the Tour Champions would allow him to stay sharp between the majors without too much stress on his body. The tour's events are 54 holes and on courses shorter and more forgiving than PGA Tour events. Participants are allowed to use carts in most.
"It's a no brainer, it would mean a lot to our tour," said Jim Furyk, 55, who has won three times on the senior circuit. "It'd mean a lot for him. I think it could keep him sharp. And just the amount of exposure and having a significant amount of more eyes on our tour would be big."
And Tiger could find motivation in the decision.
Tiger won the U.S. Junior Amateur (1991, 1992, 1993), the U.S. Amateur Championship (1994, 1995, 1996) and the U.S. Open (2000, 2005, 2006). Nobody has won all three and the U.S. Senior Open.
Although he would have many years to win the fourth USGA men's championship — Langer became the oldest winner of the U.S. Senior Open when he won in 2023 two months shy of his 66th birthday — the 2026 U.S. Senior Open is July 2-5 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, the city where Nicklaus was born.
"It's not getting just a high profile, it's the highest profile," Langer said about Tiger playing on the Tour Champions. "It would mean what it means on the regular tour. When Tiger plays, the interest is greater, right? Interest in spectators, more media, more everything. So it's the same thing on our tour.
"It would be huge to the events he would compete in."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods at 50: Hall of Fame career includes 15 majors, surgeries
Category: General Sports
