Tiger Woods likely would be done playing — if not for 1 reason, analyst says

Tiger Woods’ son embarrasses him, Andy North says.  

Woods told North the story. Charlie will come home from school and poke and prod his 15-time major-winning father into playing golf with him — and then Tiger will. 

“I think that’s something that’s so special,” North said. 

And that’s also why Woods is still playing, North said.

Talking Monday as part of a pre-Masters teleconference for ESPN, the analyst and two-time major winner said Woods’ children — Charlie and daughter Sam — are the reason he’s continuing, despite injuries sustained throughout his body, including ones suffered in a car crash in 2021. 

“I’ve got to believe that — deep down in my heart, he is one of the great competitors of all time, but if he didn’t have any children, I don’t know if he’d be playing now,” North said. “I think one of the reasons he’s worked so hard after the accident was because it gave him a great opportunity to spend so much time with Charlie and play golf with his son, and watch Charlie get better.”

The subject had come up after a reporter had asked about the future of Woods’ playing career. Most recently, the 49-year-old suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, and his return is unclear.  

“Now we’re getting to the point that this next rehab is going to be brutally difficult for him,” North said. “He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody. He’s done everything he needed to do. If he were to announce in the next month or two that, you know what, I’m never playing competitive golf again, I think that would be great, and no one would have an issue with that. 

“I think that the competitor in him — you know, you always think you can rehab. You always think you can come back. You always believe that you can do this. But I don’t have any magic answers there. I would think that he’s going to try to play some events after this rehab. Is it going to be a Tiger Woods that can compete? Deep in my heart, I don’t think so.”

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Following up, Curtis Strange said players shouldn’t fear being “ceremonial.”  

Also a two-time major winner and ESPN analyst, Strange said he’d like to see Woods at Augusta in the years ahead, in whatever manner that might be. 

“He’s not going to play the way he wants to,” Strange said, “but I think the people would love to see him, much like they saw Jack [Nicklaus] and Arnie [Palmer], especially Arnie, for a long time. I think we need those people around, to be around the younger generation, to answer questions, to — players learn by example, how to play golf courses. Just be part of the elder statesman society. 

“I hope he gets back to where he can play. We don’t even know if he can play ever again. It’s going badly. But especially here, where he can come back and be comfortable and just be around. The people can’t get enough of him. We can’t get enough of him. It would be sad that he wouldn’t come back here and play in the future, but what the future holds, we have no idea.”