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Tiger Woods can join PGA Tour Champions in 2026. Will he make a return to Firestone?
There's a chance Tiger Woods could again be prowling Firestone South next summer, but the question remains: Will he jump to the PGA Tour Champions circuit?
It's one of the biggest questions in the golf world heading into this winter, and it's certainly the No. 1 topic when considering the 50-and-over Tour that includes the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone County Club's South Course, where Woods has a superhuman history.
Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, turns 50 years old in December, making him eligible for the 2026 PGA Tour Champions season. The 2026 Kaulig Companies Championship would be Woods' first potential return to Firestone since the Bridgestone Invitational was moved away from Akron after the 2018 event.
If Woods joins the senior circuit, it would make sense for him to play Firestone South considering his success rate there. But questions remain about both his mental and physical ambitions as he enters his 50s, and the paths he chooses to take as he deals with his own injuries.
'He's just an amazing, phenomenal player,' Ernie Els said this week. 'Hopefully we'll see him out here next year or the year after that.'
Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour Champions
Woods has a reputation of being historically competitive. The question has been asked by some around the sport whether he'd ever play on the PGA Tour Champions, or if he'd simply play select PGA Tour events until he fully retires. It would seem more likely than not, though, that Woods will extend his playing career by joining the Champions tour.
"For us it would be a thrill to see Tiger come out and play the Champions Tour, and I'm convinced he will play several — depends how many," Bernhard Langer said on a conference call in January. "I'm going to gradually get older and older here, and I may not be at the very top of my game when he comes out, but he always moves the needle."
The next question is whether Woods' body can handle it, and how much he wants to push it. He hasn't played a round of professional golf since July 2024 after a lengthy injury history that includes numerous leg surgeries, other extensive health issues and a horrific single-car accident in Los Angeles in 2021 that nearly cost him his right leg. Woods already stated he'd never again play a full PGA Tour schedule. He'll certainly play the four majors when he can.
Woods has stated that he feels lucky to even have his leg after the car accident.
If he joins the PGA Tour Champions circuit, how often he can play would be a major issue to answer. Players on that Tour, though, can use golf carts, possibly allowing him to play more often.
'When he gets in a cart, he'll tear it up, absolutely,' Jack Nicklaus said last month at the Memorial Tournament, according to Golfweek. 'He'll win better than 50 percent of the tournaments he plays in, I think. You all know how good a player he is but, I mean, his work ethic is so good.'
He also joked about using a cart in 2023, seemingly indicating he intends to play on the Champions Tour by saying, "I've got three more years, where I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred [Couples]. But until then, no buggy."
The financial aspect for Firestone, the Kaulig Companies Championship and even the city of Akron could be immense. Where Woods goes, the crowd goes. That has always been the case, and it'd likely hold true on any Tour, at least to a degree.
The PGA Tour Champions features some legends of the game, including Els, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Langer and quite a few others. But no name is bigger than Woods in the game of golf, and that isn't changing anytime soon.
The golf world now awaits his decision, and Firestone South wonders whether it'll welcome back its No. 1 player.
