The golf world is not exempt from April Fools, and Tiger Woods decided to get in on the fun this year as he recovers from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.
On Tuesday, the 15-time major champion claimed his doctors cleared him to play in the 2025 Masters thanks to “explosive lifts” and a lot of time in the “hyperbaric chamber.”
I can’t believe I am saying this, but a few weeks after rupturing my left Achilles, the sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber plus the explosive lifts my doctors and trainers have me ready to play the Masters next week! Can’t wait! See y’all on the course.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 1, 2025
While it was an obvious prank, not everyone got the memo initially, as CNBC’s Squawk Box discussed Woods’ release as legitimate news before eventually catching on.
Tiger Woods just pulled off the ultimate April Fools’ prank, and the CNBC Squawk Box crew fell for it for a second. 😂 pic.twitter.com/kxDRciPTaa
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 1, 2025
Just six minutes after firing off the joke, Woods made sure everyone understood that he won’t be playing at Augusta National this year as he starts his road to recovery.
P.S. April Fools my Achilles is still a mess 🙂 https://t.co/H1Y1AOgn2v
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 1, 2025
Woods announced he ruptured his left Achilles tendon on March 11 and had a “minimally invasive” procedure to repair the ruptured tendon. The timeline for Woods’ return to competition is unclear.
Last year, Bernhard Langer tore his left Achilles while playing pickelball and returned three months later to play on the Champions Tour. Langer told the Champions Tour that he had the same “SpeedBridge” procedure as quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which allows for immediate weight-bearing and range of motion to fast-track the recovery process.
This is just the latest in a long line of surgeries for Woods.
In September, he had the sixth surgery on his back to deal with a nerve impingement. He did not play in the Hero World Challenge, which he hosts, but did tee it up in the PNC Championship alongside his son Charlie in December.
Woods played in four TGL matches this year. He was slated to play in the Genesis Invitational, but the unexpected passing of his mother Tida forced him to withdraw. Woods said he did not pick up a club for weeks after her passing, except to play with President Donald Trump to discuss the PGA Tour’s ongoing negotiations with LIV’s financiers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund. He also played in the Seminole Pro-Member.
Woods was ramping up his training for the Masters when he ruptured his Achilles.
Fred Couples, Woods’s good friend, said he was “in great spirits” after the surgery.
When asked about Woods’ competitive future post-Achilles rupture, ESPN commentator Andy North said he believes Woods will try to return but wouldn’t be surprised if eventually landed on the decision to hang it up.
“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. He made a comment to me one time that there are days Charlie comes home from school and embarrasses [him] into going and playing nine holes late in the afternoon with him. I think that’s something that’s so special.”
“Now we’re getting to the point that this next rehab is going to be brutally difficult for him. 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.”
The 2025 Masters begins next Thursday, April 10. The PGA Championship starts May 15, while the U.S. Open gets underway June 12. The major season will wrap at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, which begins on July 17.
