Browsing: Woods

Laura Woods fainted live on air during ITV’s coverage of the Lionesses’ victory over Ghana, with pundits Ian Wright and Anita Asante catching her as she fell.

The 38-year-old presenter was leading coverage of England’s final match of 2025, and the last of the ‘Homecoming Series’ which has seen Sarina Wiegman’s side also face Brazil, Australia and China in a series of friendlies.

Ahead of kick off, Woods collapsed during ITV4’s coverage, prompting an immediate and well-coordinated response from colleagues and the production team.

Laura is all ok and with the right people. Thank you for all of your kind messages December 2, 2025

ITV then went to a commercial break.

When coverage resumed, Katie Shanahan stepped in for Woods and advised viewers that she had been “taken ill.”

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Woods was then helped on site by medics, and it was confirmed that it was not serious to avoid unnecessary viewer speculation.

At half-time, Shanahan added: “As you may all be aware, Laura Woods fell ill at the start of the programme. We want to reassure you that she’s doing okay. We all send her our love.”

It was a great example of managing these difficult on-air situations, with all parties involved acting quickly to avoid distress to Woods and viewers.

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Tiger Woods broke a 10-month silence on Tuesday morning at the Hero World Challenge with a cannon blast.

In his annual pilgrimage to the dais at the Hero World Challenge, Woods hinted that the PGA Tour was on the precipice of upending its competitive schedule — a potentially ground-altering shift for golf’s largest professional tour.

“We’re trying to figure out what is the best schedule possible so we can create the best fields and have the most viewership and also the most fan involvement,” Woods said Tuesday, directly referencing schedule changes that have been rumored for months under new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp. “Looking at different timetables of when we start and finish, different tentpoles throughout the year and what that might look like.”

Woods was speaking in the caged language of a seasoned pro, but the implication of even these carefully chosen words was enormous. Tiger was intimating something much larger than a reassortment of the calendar — he was advocating for a change in the way the PGA Tour views itself.

The mantra behind the shift? Rolapp told us in his opening press conference: Keep it simple, stupid.

“The sports business is not that complicated,” Rolapp said then. “You get the product right, you get the right partners, and your fans will reward you with their time.”

Woods’ perspective on a new Tour schedule holds added weight as the golf world turns its gaze toward 2026. The 15-time major champ is the chair of the PGA Tour’s so-called “Future Competitions Committee,” or FCC, a collection of players and influential sports business voices tasked with creating an “optimal competitive model” for the Tour under Rolapp.

For weeks, rumors have swirled around the committee’s findings, including several reports that the Tour could look to establish a shorter, more streamlined regular season competing largely outside of the NFL season. Those rumors were substantiated by a report from Golf Digestand comments from U.S. Ryder Cupper Harris English, who suggested the new season could begin after the Super Bowl and conclude around Labor Day.

On Tuesday, Woods indicated the Tour was indeed pursuing a truncated schedule beginning perhaps as quickly as 2027. The new schedule, Woods said, aims to simplify the PGA Tour for the fans. It also features an unambiguous set of goalposts: football season.

“That’s one of the reasons why we quit playing in September and October and even early November back when I was playing in my early days at the Tour Championship,” Woods said, alluding to the NFL. “There’s this thing with ‘The Shield’ that’s out there that’s influential.”

Golf has long debated the merits of a war with the most profitable sports property in the world. In 2006, Woods was among the players who spoke out aggressively against PGA Tour events on NFL weekends, arguing that golf deserved its own place in the sports calendar (and, critically, its own offseason). In the years that followed, PGA Tour commissioners Tim Finchem and Jay Monahan defied these desires by expandingthe PGA Tour schedule as part of a broader effort to maximize the value extracted from the Tour’s TV rights agreements. Those efforts worked, and the Tour enriched itself to the tune of tens of billions, but the schedule grew increasingly bloated … and increasingly confusing. Woods’ words from Doral in 2006 lingered.

“We have an 11-month season, and that’s too long,” Woods said then. “I think we should end with Labor Day. How can we compete against football? It’s not going to happen.”

Some takeaways from a surprisingly insightful Tiger Woods at the Hero.

– Interesting to hear Tiger talk so candidly about PGA Tour schedule changes. Intimated that a shorter, football-avoidant PGA Tour could be coming as soon as 2027. Lots of smoke here, but Tiger is the first…

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) December 2, 2025

Rolapp knows the significance of the NFL’s planet-shattering dominance better than most. He spent nearly three decades working in the league office under commissioner Roger Goodell, including more than a decade as the point person for the league’s media properties. He was hired as Tour CEO largely for his skills in expanding the NFL’s media business through platforms like Thursday Night Football, though it appears he is now responsible for enacting the kind of structural shrinking rarely seen in today’s world of ballooning TV rights deals. In this endeavor, Rolapp’s NFL experience might not be much help: “The Shield” hasn’t faced structural change like the kind on Rolapp’s plate since expanding to a 16-game regular season in 1978.

But there is a component of the old NFL playbook that should work in Rolapp’s favor at the Tour. Under Goodell, Rolapp perfected the league’s strategy of reach — or bringing the biggest games to the biggest stages where they could be watched by the most fans. In many ways, the ethos behind this NFL strategy was the same: simplicity.

“Well, this is fan-based. We’re trying to give the fans the best product we possibly can,” Woods said. “And if we’re able to give the fans the best product we can, I think we can make the players who have equity in the Tour, we can give them more of that.”

The PGA Tour calendar is an unusual beast by professional sports standards. Unlike most pro sports — where the regular season builds toward the biggest weeks of the year — golf’s biggest weeks occur in the middle of the regular season at the major championships. The FedEx Cup Playoffs and Signature Events series aimed to solve golf’s “camelback” schedule by creating a more natural flow to the season and a dramatic, season-ending conclusion, but the system always lacked coherence. The points system was hard to understand, the playoffs featured no fewer than five different formats, and the immediate start of the subsequent “fall season” cost the Tour much of the momentum it sought to create.

Last week, at an event hosted by CNBC, Rolapp announced the unifying theory behind any forthcoming PGA Tour changes: Not to make money or sign a bigger TV deal, but to create a competitive structure that was easy for anyoneto understand.

“Part of professional golf’s issue is it has grown up as a series of events that happened to be on television,” Rolapp said. “As opposed to, how do you actually take those events, make them meaningful in their own right, but cobble them together in a competitive model, including with a postseason that you would all understand whether you’re a golf fan or a sports fan.”

It’s a tricky needle to thread. Golf’s traditions are some of what endear the sport to its diehards — and the annual cadence of the calendar is frequently cited by players as a benefitof Tour life. Upending those traditions in favor of a slimmer, sleeker schedule might help attract a bigger audience, but it might also turn away the Tour’s core group of fans, including some of its members.

Five years ago, baseball faced a similar conundrum. Its games were slow, its viewership stagnant and aging, and its rules outdated. A new commissioner, Rob Manfred, was hired to refresh the product. He pushed rule changes that infuriated the fanbase and threatened more than a century of a tradition. After no small amount of handwringing, the changes were ratified.

But then a strange thing happened: Baseball flourished. Game times were halved, stadium attendance rose and the sport’s viewership metrics spiked. Those changes are still young, and it is early to call them unmitigated successes, but on the whole they provide a blueprint for the kind of brave new world that could be in golf’s near future.

Woods was coy about whether any of the Future Competitions Committee’s proposed changes could echo of baseball, but one key member of Manfred’s delegation serves alongside Tiger on the FCC: Former commissioner’s consultant Theo Epstein, who encouraged many of Manfred’s rule changes under the one-word ethos of “action.”

“We have some incredibly smart player directors, some independents and some leaders that have led in change in other sports,” Woods said. “So trying to pull all of that together with Brian’s leadership and stewardship, that’s what we’re trying to implement all these different things.”

Of course, there is a financial incentive to simplicity in pro golf. Woods said he believed the windfall of the potential changes could be “fantastic” for Tour players — and Rolapp is staking his first impression with the golf fanbase (and his membership) on the bet that Woods is right.

But the big takeaway from Woods’ words on Thursday morning was that he believes a “better” PGA Tour and a “richer” PGA Tour aren’t necessarily in conflict.

It has been a long, complicated road to get here. But now the path forward is clear.

And, perhaps just as important, it’s simple.

Tiger Woods was honest, unfortunately so.

Toward the end of his press conference Tuesday morning at the Hero World Challenge, which now doubles as an annual state of Tiger Woods address, he said this:

“I know I’m not really saying a whole lot, but I’m trying to say as much as I possibly can.”

That response in particular followed a question on what the PGA Tour could soon look like, though it could have also come after he was asked about a potential return to playing, the othersubject that dominated the presser. Given the presumed sensitivity of both topics, some vagueness was to be expected. Still, Woods is often guarded with his comments, knowing well that what a 15-time major winner opines on will likely become a headline.

But give the man the opportunity to talk shop, and he morphs into a blogger. This has happened occasionally, and when he opens up on the golf swing, we also get a peek under the hood of his golf cart, so to say.

Tuesday, for example, Woods told us about a pair of his viewing habits.

The part of Scottie Scheffler’s game that Tiger Woods loves watching

This came after a pair of questions. They are written in italics, and Woods’ answers follow.

The last couple of years or maybe a little more, we have all marveled at whatScottie has been doing with his consistency, and the one word that keeps coming back is that it’s almost Tiger-like. You have done it, you have been there. What’s your appreciation of what Scottie has been able to do and anything that you really like about his style?

“Well, there’s nothing you can’t not like about Scottie,” Woods said. “He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. What he’s doing on the golf course is just incredible, the consistency day in and day out, the strategy that he — how he attacks the golf course. It starts from — you can see him analyze it from the green back where the flag is, where he wants to miss a tee shot, what club to hit, where the wind is, what side of the tee box he’s to start off on. It’s truly amazing at how thoughtful he is and strategic he is throughout the entire round.

“And on top of that, he doesn’t have lapses in a round like most players do. He’s there, present for all 18 holes and all shots played and that’s hard to do. To do that day-in and day-out with the grueling schedule that the Tour has and the players are playing now in more of a condensed season, and the big events that he’s playing in. I mean, he won six times and they’re not small events. He’s beating the best fields. So that’s something that I certainly can appreciate and I think that I hope everyone else appreciates it as well because you just don’t see this happen very often.”

Across the categories, Tiger, he is leading — he was the No. 1 for this year. Is there any part of his game that you really love watching? One part of the game?

“Of Scottie’s game? Yeah, I truly love watching him hit irons, the shaped shots that he hits, the trajectory, the window changes that he has, the distance control, the miss in the proper spot, the proper spin in certain pin locations,” Woods said. “These are all subtle things that mean a lot over the course of 72 holes. That to me is impressive. If you don’t have trajectory control, you can’t have distance control. To see him move it up and down in different windows, use wind, fight wind and control spin is fun to watch.”

The takeaway: There’s endless curiosity in how players watch other players. Some of that is due to seeing the game differently than an average player; TV banks on this thought when broadcasts employ pros as analysts. There’s also a thought that when a peer appreciates something specific about someone, that’s maybe a look into what they value most, or wish to have for themselves — or both.

Woods’ quotes may hit on those ideas, especially the “windows” quote. What are the windows? He’s talked about them before — and did so extensively on a video with TaylorMade, which you can watch here — but, in short, it’s a thought about nine zones (or windows) for a ball to exit through. Do amateurs spot Scheffler working the ball up, down, left and right? Maybe, maybe not. Should they? For sure, especially in practice. After all, Woods was appreciative.

Why pros are better at a younger age, according to Tiger Woods

2025 Hero World Challenge: TV schedule, streaming info, how to watch, tee times

By:

Kevin Cunningham

It’s YouTube. Woods’ complete answer is below.

“I think the reason is the fact that one of the big — in my vision, I think it’s a lot has to do with YouTube, seeing swings.

“Before, I had VHS tapes. I would tape a weekend round of golf and then watch it on — hoping the tracking worked halfway decent and try and get a swing. Sometimes the swings didn’t even look good; I didn’t even know who that was.

“Seeing so many different swings over and over again and the instruction level has gotten better, the curve it took to understand how to play the game’s gotten faster. You didn’t have to necessarily go out there and dig it out of the dirt; now you can watch it on your mobile phone and learn that way. It’s gotten faster and younger. Just like all kids, they’re sponges for information and they can make changes on the fly.”

The takeaway:The image of Woods plugging a VHS tape into a VCR and recording broadcasts is something, as is the image of him working the remote.

Want to be great at golf? Just put in that level of commitment — and make sure your family doesn’t tape over your recording.

Tiger Woods is back at the Hero World Challenge, although for the fourth time in five years he won’t be playing, instead serving solely as tournament host.

When he will return to tournament action is unclear.

In a press conference at Albany in the Bahamas on Tuesday, the 15-time major champ said he’s still not sure when he’ll return to competitive golf as he continues to rehab following his latest back procedure. Woods underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in October, which followed a surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in March. He also had a procedure on his lower back in September 2024.

Woods made five PGA Tour starts in 2024 (making one cut) and later competed in the inaugural TGL season in early 2025 before his Achilles surgery sidelined him.

He said Tuesday his rehab hasn’t progressed as fast as he’d like, although last week he was cleared to begin chipping and putting.

“It’s been slow,” said Woods, speaking to the media for the first time since the latest surgery. “Not able to do much on a disc replacement to let it set. Can’t really do much. Now we got the OK to start cranking up a little bit in the gym, started strengthening and started doing a little bit more of the rotational component that I haven’t been able to do. Just letting the disc kind of set.”

He’ll sit out this year’s PNC Championship — where he’s teamed up with his son, Charlie — and will miss the first part of the new TGL season, although he said he’d be at every match his Jupiter Links squad competes in.

Welcome to the strangest week of the pro golf schedule

By:

Dylan Dethier

“Maybe play at the end of the [TGL] season here and there, but I don’t know,” he said. “I just started chipping and putting. I’ve got to hit more shots than just chip and putt in TGL. There’s a few drives I might have to hit.”

In 2024, Woods played all four majors plus the Genesis Invitational (although he withdrew mid-tournament with flu-like symptoms), where he also doubles as tournament host. He was asked if he wants to be ready to play the 2026 Genesis, which is Feb. 19-22 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, but was noncommittal and said rehabbing the disc replacement takes time.

“I’d like to come back to just playing golf again,” he said. “I haven’t played golf in a long time. It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of things happen on and off the golf course that’s been tough. And so my passion to just play, I haven’t done that in a long time. Just play. So I’ve had to sit on the sidelines for a number of months, and most of this year and quite frankly end of last year.”

With Woods’ injuries piling up and his 50th birthday (Dec. 30) on the horizon, he was also asked about his Champions Tour prospects. The over-50 circuit allows carts and consists of 54-hole tournaments, a formula that could be intriguing to aging legends, like Woods, who still have competitive juices.

“I’m just looking forward to, just let me get back to playing again, let me do that and then I’ll kind of figure out what the schedule is going to be,” Woods said. “I’m a ways away from that part of it and that type of decision, that type of commitment level. Unfortunately, I’ve been through this rehab process before, it’s just step by step. Once I get a feel for practicing, exploding, playing, the recovery process, then I can assess where I’m going to play and how much I’ll play.”

The Hero World Challenge, an unofficial PGA Tour event, has 20 of the top golfers in the world. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has won the last two years and is the heavy betting favorite yet again.

Today, PXG unveiled the tech behind its brand new Lightning metalwoods — four drivers, two fairway woods and a hybrid all aimed at giving the best PXG performance you’ve ever tested. You’ve probably seen the pictures and videos on my or Johnny Wunder’s (@johnny_wunder) Instagram pages, and we’ve been very bad about hiding how much we like the new gear. There’s lots of reasons for that, so let’s dive in and see what PXG is bringing to the table in 2026. I’ll mainly focus on the new drivers here because I know that’s what most of you want to hear about, but there’s some specific notes about the fairway woods and the hybrids I feel are important as well.

Johnny and I were both lucky enough to attend the PXG media event earlier this year where they unveiled the product and fit us into the best options for our games (and let us have some fun while we were at it too). PXG had nearly full bags built overnight for more than 25 players that were there testing, including a new bag for every single attendee. Wild.

PXG built every attendee nearly a full bag overnight.

PXG

What’s new with PXG Lightning?

PXG’s Lightning launch follows a successful Black Ops series of products. Black Ops was sort of universally seen across the industry as the first legitimate driver and fairway options from the PXG brand. They’ve always made a respectable hybrid offering, but the industry hasn’t been quite sold on their top-of-the-bag metalwoods.

It’s worth noting that the entire lineup has a glossy finish from top to bottom. The crown and the sole are both polished carbon fiber, and it absolutely passes the eye-candy test. I’m someone who prefers the gloss finish on my woods and this implementation is definitely high on my list of favorites. The gloss really brings out the shaping in the sole so you can not only see the spine on each driver, but also the different shapes and areas where they clearly are attacking some aerodynamic opportunities.

The GOLF gear squad testing the newest from PXG.

PXG

When I asked JW about PXG and what he’s seen from the company since he got started in the golf industry, he came back with this: “Specifically to drivers, I’d say PXG went from a company who dabbled in drivers just to satisfy the loyalists to now how having a bona fide driver that will compete with anyone. The company shifted a ton the moment they nailed this Lightning series. They are now a legit FULL BAG company. Huge step forward.”

With Lightning, they’ve surpassed Black Ops in every way possible, and frankly, it’s so far beyond Black Ops that PXG has now put itself in a competitive space right along with the big dogs in Callaway, TaylorMade or Titleist. And they’ve taken an interesting approach in the design.

Frequency Tuned Face

The big tech story with PXG Lightning is their Frequency Tuned Face. The very first thing most of us at the media event noticed and questioned when we first saw the heads was the ridge on the bottom of each model. A very pronounced ridge. A ridge that had to have a story. And for the first day of the event we all started to speculate what this ridge did. We all went through our fittings for new drivers getting zero technical details, which to their credit was a really cool way for us to dive into the gear. It was a purely feel- and performance-based look at the new stuff that let us wonder about the reasoning behind it. But on Day 2, everything was unlocked. Which brings us back to that Frequency Tuned Face.

The PXG Lightning Tour Mid.

PXG

Essentially what PXG did is find the optimal frequency that the club head vibrates at to create a marriage between face flexion, ball compression, sound and feel. The aforementioned back ridge plays its part by stiffening up the carbon fiber sole plates in each model so that they don’t negatively affect the overall modal frequency. By finding this perfect frequency they are able to optimize speed and launch off the face so that a fitted golfer sees the most performance possible out of their PXG Lightning metalwood. This goes for the two fairway models and the hybrid as well.

Sound and Feel

A quick note on sound and feel: these drivers sound so cool. They’re unapologetically loud offerings, but with a deeper tone than you might expect from this volume. There’s no piercing ting, but rather a nice crack that’s incredibly satisfying when you get one right in the center. Off-center the pitch is going to drop just a tad and you’re able to get feedback on how badly you may have missed off-center. This is probably my favorite sounding driver I’ve tested so far as 2026 launches are concerned.

Additional Improvements

While the entire launch revolves around this Frequency Tune Face, PXG has stepped it up in nearly every category. They weren’t afraid to admit their downfalls when it came to the Black Ops lineup, showing us charts that had the Black Ops lineup behind its competitors in nearly every category, including speed, launch, spin and down-range dispersion. Lightning, however, turns over a new leaf for the company. They can confidently say that the decision in performance to play a PXG Lightning product over the competition is going to come down to the fit. It may be harsh to say, but fitters simply weren’t pulling Black Ops off the shelf to compete in fitting bays; but they’re ready to pull Lightning into more bay battles in 2026.

The author swings the PXG Lightning Tour Mid Driver.

PXG

Each head also has an increased amount of carbon fiber, and with their Spined Sole technology that carbon fiber’s strength has been improved even further, creating a more stable driver lineup while increasing MOI in each model by allowing PXG engineers to more strategically place their adjustable weighting systems. On the Tour head you’ll notice a 67% increase in the carbon fiber sole plate over the 0311 Black Ops Tour-1, and the Tour Mid and the Max 10k+ have a 74% and 84% increase, respectively, over the 0311 Black Ops driver. Yes, you read that right. The “middle” model has a 74% larger carbon fiber surface area than the more forgiving model of the last generation. More on this in a bit.

Black Ops was touted as a very forgiving lineup, almost to a fault, but by adding more carbon fiber to the Lightning lineup, PXG is able to move weight more strategically and squeeze every bit of MOI out of these heads. The Max 10k+ head sees a 5% MOI boost over the 0311 Black Ops for a total combined MOI measurement of 8290; the Tour Mid sees a 12% MOI boost over the 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 for a total combined MOI measurement of 9122; and the Tour sees a 2% jump above the Tour-1 as well for a total combined MOI measurement of 8290. It’s worth noting that the new Lightning Max Lite also sees an impressive MOI measurement of 9667 MOI points, just missing out on that commonly marketed 10k MOI measurement.

The Lightning Tour Mid Driver — The Special One

By finding this optimal modal frequency, they’re able to fine tune each driver into the proper segment for the golfer the product is aimed at, which is how we get the introduction of the brand new Lightning Tour Mid: a head aimed at supporting a larger bell curve of players who may find themselves at a lower handicap but need a bit of help with launch and spin. The Tour Mid is, for lack of a better term, the new core head in the lineup or the middle ground between the low spin Lightning Tour and the High MOI Lightning Max 10k+. I think about 80% of the better players at the PXG event got fit into the Tour Mid, and none of us were really surprised. Both Johnny and I got fit into the Tour Mid and played a full round with it the next day. We were both extremely impressed, and Johnny will tell you it was one of my better driving rounds he’s seen me have.

PXG’s Mustang ZT adds to zero torque putter lineup

By:

Jack Hirsh

The head has a better player’s inspired shape, feel and performance with just enough added forgiveness to make it playable for a rather large bucket of golfers. Charles Howell III was actually the first person to get into Johnny’s ear about the new Lightning models, and if you know Johnny at all, that was more than enough to get him pretty amped going into our testing.

I think what makes the Tour Mid so great is the spin and launch window it finds itself in. The Tour model this year moves into more of a niche tool. It’s great for players looking to kill spin and launch the ball a bit flatter. Players who want to work a big cut are going to love the Lightning Tour. But for players who may need a little help getting the ball up in the air or naturally produce a little bit of a draw off the tee, the new Tour Mid hits a really nice sweet spot.

During my fitting, paired with a Ventus TR Black 6x (which was a complete surprise for me) the Tour Mid never fell below 2100 rpm and never skied above 2800 rpms, which for me hits a perfect sweet spot. I am actually OK if certain misses spin up on me and reach that 3000-ish mark, but I get terrified as I get closer to that 2000 rpm number. My horror miss is the low-spin duck hook. (I get chills just typing that out.) But the Tour Mid held strong, and it threw up some really impressive ball speed numbers as well. I was sorta feelin’ it the day I was getting fit so I was swinging closer to 116 mph down in the Scottsdale National sun and was seeing ball speeds right around the 170-mph mark. Plenty of speed to compete with anything else I’ve tested. And these numbers weren’t just full-bore swings on the range. Johnny and I got a chance to immediately take our fit drivers out on course and test them out, and we saw the exact same playability we did in our fits.

The PXG Lightning lineup.

PXG

Lightning has struck

The new PXG Lightning lineup is a very welcome addition to the PXG family. On the surface, it’s a great new option in fitting bays with a reliable hybrid, two new fairway woods and four new driver models — particularly the Lightning Tour Mid. As PXG celebrates a decade of success and growth, the Lightning product is the perfect display of what its team is capable of and how it’s trying to push the company forward.

The drivers are priced at $649, with the fairway woods $379 and hybrid $329.

Looking to get fit for your 2026 bag? Visit your local True Spec.

Tiger Woods’ legendary caddie Steve Williams won’t be on Anthony Quayle’s bag for long, but his impact was felt during this week’s BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The 31-year-old Quayle is a new member of the DP World Tour and will have Williams on the bag for two weeks before he heads over to Europe. Williams, who caddied for Tiger Woods in 13 of his major wins and for Adam Scott during his 2013 Masters win, had a big impact on Quayle during this week’s proceedings at Royal Queensland.

Quayle opened with a four-under 67 and backed it up with a 66. A Saturday 67 put him in a three-way tie for the 54-hole lead alongside David Puig and Ricardo Gouveia.

As Quayle made his way around Royal Queensland, Williams’ experience, conviction and temperament helped steer him away from trouble and into contention. Williams’ impact was evident during the second round when he called Quayle off an approach shot to change clubs. Quayle listened to the advice, stuffed the shot and made birdie.

“It’s unbelievable; that trait is so rare,” Quayle said of Williams’ conviction, via Golf Digest Australia’s Evin Priest. “I think he is really putting his neck on the line. It’s cool for a player [to see that]. I felt like he wouldn’t be doing it unless he was 100 percent set [sure], and I felt pretty confident as soon as he did. His language and how he delivers the message eliminates any doubt and I felt like that new plan was the only plan and then just executed.”

Tour Confidential: Will Tiger Woods actually play on Champions Tour?

By:

GOLF Editors

Quayle said that Williams won’t be a permanent fixture on his bag, but the 62-year-old will pop up from time to time.

How often Williams’ caddies for Quayle, who earned his DP World Tour card via the Australian Tour’s Order of Merit, is yet to be seen. But he’ll relish the opportunity to soak up knowledge from Williams whenever he gets the chance.

“He’s probably the most positive and clear caddie that I’ve ever worked with,” Quayle said of Williams after the first round, via news.com/au. “He probably has a reputation for being quite intense, but my experience today wasn’t that at all. It was just very direct (with) ‘this is what we need to do here, you think you can do it? Yes, let’s do it then’. There was no room at all for any sort of doubt at any point. It just didn’t seem to creep into my mind. Anytime I did make a little bit of a mistake, it wasn’t like he was jumping on me. It was like ‘yeah, that’s fine mate, everyone makes bad swing from time to time, let’s make a good one on the next one.’

“His professionalism and his demeanor, it rubs off on you if you’re in close proximity,” Quayle told the DP World Tour after the second round. “It has been fantastic. Looking forward to the next couple weeks and then any other time I get the opportunity.”

Quayle arrived at Royal Queensland on Sunday with a chance to win, but he double bogeyed the second and fifth holes to fall well back of Puig, who pulled away from the pack to claim the trophy. Quayle made a couple of birdies coming home to shoot a final round two-over 73 and finish in a tie for 10th.

While Anthony Quayle didn’t hoist the trophy at Royal Queensland, he and Steve Williams will head to next week’s star-studded Australian Open, which will include Rory McIlroy, feeling good about their partnership and ability to get a win and earn a spot in the 2026 Masters.

Check inevery week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at@golf_com. This week, we discuss Tiger Woods’ Champions Tour plans, The Skins Game and more.

Tiger Woods will host (but not play in) his Hero World Challenge this week in the Bahamas, as he’s still recovering from his latest back surgery. Although with Woods’ 50th birthday looming on Dec. 30, it has led to more speculation on whether or not we’ll see Woods play on the 50-and-over Champions Tour in the future. Woods has been mostly mum on the topic over the years, but has dropped some subtle teases. Is Woods playing the Champions Tour in any capacity actually realistic? And could he be successful?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsensgolf): If he’s healthy enough to stand upright and swing, we will see him, sparingly, owing either to his competitive drive or a partnership deal or some combination of the two. I don’t see how he stays away from it entirely any more than Nicklaus did. And a healthy-enough-to-swing Woods would for sure have a chance to win.

Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey):If he can get a cart (and others in the field as well), he will play. We know how competitive he is and if the biggest issue truly is walking (which all evidence supports) then we will see him on the PGA Tour Champions. He’s keeping us in suspense because he just doesn’t want opponents on either tour to know what his game plan is. As for his success … would you bet against him against the same guys he used to whip left, right and upside down? He used to win even with one hand tied behind his back. Now he will show he could do it with only one leg!

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe):I think we could see him here and there on the Champions Tour, but I think if he able to swing and thinks he can play competitively, he will gear everything around playing the majors. Does playing the Boeing Classic help that? We might reach a point where Tiger just plays on the senior tour, but I don’t think he thinks he is there yet. But if he tees it up, of course, he can go out and be successful over 54 holes against guys he beat in his prime.

Insider predicts Tiger Woods could make surprise PGA Tour return

By:

Kevin Cunningham

Despite his struggles to stay healthy and his game dropping off over the years, Woods is still golf’s biggest draw. What do you think a Woods start on the Champs Tour would do for that circuit? Would it be bigger than that week’s PGA Tour stop?

Sens: There’d be plenty of excitement around it the first time and a ratings bump, but mostly as a kind of curiosity and a nostalgia tour. Kinda like a Bob Dylan concert now. You want to see it. You have to see it at least once. But whether you really need to see it often is another story. Personally, I’d rather remember Woods as the transcendent athlete he was than watch him go through the reps of a nostalgia tour. So yeah. I’m sure it would give the senior circuit a nice little jolt, but wouldn’t it be healthier for everyone – Tiger, fans, tournaments – if we eased up on any on-course hopes and expectations?

Hirsh:Depends on what that week’s PGA Tour stop is. I see him playing in Senior Majors with an occasional appearance at some of the more notable stops like the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach. That tournament doesn’t have any PGA Tour competition. I see him being hesitant to play in something like the Chubb Classic, the Tour’s first mainland stop, because it conflicts with the PGA Tour’s Signature event at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s going to be strategic about when he plays.

Schrock:I’m sure it would inject some energy and cash into the circuit when he does tee it up. It would probably make those events more popular than some lesser PGA Tour events because, as Lydia Ko said, even those who don’t know golf know Tiger Woods. But it would be more of a nostalgia, feel-good viewing experience than anything and that only goes so far.

Tiger Woods gets pitch to play senior tour from major winner

By:

Josh Schrock

The Skins Game returned to TV on Friday, as Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele battled it out on Panther National in Florida. What did you like? What didn’t you like? And was it enough to prove it has staying power?

Sens:My feelings about the event were like partially reheated turkey: lukewarm. The players were all likable and some of the banter, Xander’s in particular, was entertaining. But the sums they were playing for were obnoxious (unless I missed it, was there even a passing mention of any proceeds going to charity), and the disingenuousness of a broadcast that pretended we should be excited about how much each guy was banking – as opposed to being put off by it – gave me post-Thanksgiving agita.

Hirsh: Meh, I found myself having it on in the background while I was doing some Black Friday Amazon-ing. I enjoyed Keegan boatracing everyone and showing what could have been at the Ryder Cup (holds back angry tears). Panther National looked cool as well. But I’m with Josh. It fills a sports void on Black Friday morning, which I guess is worth something.

Schrock:Like most of golf’s one-off attempts to grab eyeballs, it was meh. It had some good moments. The personalities were entertaining enough, but I once again think golf should steer into the do less, not more lane that Brian Rolapp seems to be heading toward. These singular events are OK every once in a while, but I don’t think they need to return as a Black Friday tradition ahead of the NFL or a loaded college football slate. As Tiger, Rory and others have previously pointed out, golf isn’t going to contend with football.

The Skins Game was a wistful walk down memory lane

By:

Josh Sens

Our Josh Sens unveiled the 2025 Turkeys of the Year, our annual awards dished out for missteps or other regrettable moments made over the last 11 months. Who or what takes home your pick?

Sens: The fan abuse of Rory at Bethpage, hands down. For a blend of brainlessness and ugliness, that was tough to beat.

Hirsh:I’ll get specific here on Sens’ topic and say it was that emcee who joined in on the “F— You Rory” chants at the first tee. What are we doing?

Schrock: How could it not be everything that went on at Bethpage as the Europeans roared out to a massive lead? If I had to pick a silver medalist, I’d probably go with Phil due to … well, everything.

2025 Turkey Awards: The most dubious moments from the golf year

By:

Josh Sens

Let’s wrap up the holiday weekend with an easy (and cheesy) one. What in the golf world are you thankful for?

Sens: I’ll see your cheese and raise you some schmaltz. But it’s an honest answer: the friends I’ve made through golf on every continent where the game is played, plus quite a few of them right here in my hometown.

Hirsh:That my fiancée, Becca, hit a 5-wood long and high enough to hit and hold the green on Bandon Trails’ par-3 5th hole this weekend on a Trackman simulator! I don’t care if she ever plays golf more than once or twice a year, but that certainly won’t hurt the cause!

Schrock:Extra cheese, anyone? Having a job that allows us to travel, play and cover golf is hard to top. Not a bad way to “work.”

Fuzzy Zoeller, the two-time major champion whose genial public persona was overshadowed by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods that came to define the latter part of his career, has died aged 74.

No cause of death was immediately available. Brian Naugle, tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston and a longtime colleague, said Zoeller’s daughter notified him of the death on Thursday.

Zoeller, born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr in New Albany, Indiana, was one of golf’s most outgoing characters across a career that delivered historic highs. He was the first player in more than four decades to win the Masters on his debut, claiming the 1979 green jacket after a three-man playoff. Five years later at the US Open at Winged Foot, he outlasted Greg Norman in an 18-hole Monday playoff after famously waving a white towel from the fairway, believing Norman had just holed a birdie putt to beat him. It turned out to be a par, and Zoeller won by eight shots the next day.

US president Donald Trump, who often praised Zoeller, posted a tribute on Truth Social. “Very sad to hear that the highly respected and beloved Professional Golfer, Fuzzy Zoeller, has passed away,†he wrote, citing Zoeller’s major victories and calling him “a truly remarkable person and playerâ€.

But for all of Zoeller’s success and easygoing charm, it was the 1997 Masters that irrevocably altered his standing in the sport. As Woods marched toward a transformative, record-breaking victory at Augusta National, a relaxed Zoeller – drink in hand – was stopped by a CNN crew near the clubhouse and asked for his thoughts. His reply, delivered with a smile and a snap of his fingers, sparked immediate outrage.

“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well,†Zoeller said, before adding that Woods should be congratulated, then joking that officials should “tell him not [to] serve fried chicken next year … or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.â€

Zoeller apologized, but the blowback only grew as it took Woods two weeks to address the remarks while traveling. Zoeller later said he received death threats for years. In Golf Digest in 2008, he called it “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life,†adding: “If people wanted me to feel the same hurt I projected on others, I’m here to tell you they got their way.â€

He said he had “cried many times†and offered “countless†apologies for words he described as a misguided attempt at humor that did not reflect who he was. “Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.â€

Fuzzy Zoeller is congratulated by his caddie during the 1979 Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Photograph: Augusta National/Getty Images

Zoeller’s playing record extended well beyond his two major triumphs. He won eight additional PGA Tour titles, captured two PGA Tour Champions victories including a Senior PGA Championship, and represented the United States in three Ryder Cups. Known for playing quickly and whistling between shots, he cultivated an image of a player who both competed hard and relished the walk.

His 1979 Masters win remains one of Augusta’s most enduring debuts. Arriving as a first-time competitor, he reached a playoff after Ed Sneed bogeyed the final three holes. On the second extra hole, Zoeller stiffed his approach to six feet and rolled in the winning birdie, tossing his putter skyward in celebration. “I’ve never been to heaven,†he once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.â€

At Winged Foot five years later, he believed Norman’s 40-plus-foot par putt on the 18th was a birdie that had beaten him and responded with a theatrical white-towel wave from the fairway. After an official told him the score, Zoeller forced the playoff and dominated, though he later joked that he regretted giving away the now-famous towel.

Zoeller played college golf first at Edison Junior College and later at the University of Houston, then a powerhouse programme. He turned professional in 1973. His wife, Diane, died in 2021. He is survived by three children, including his daughter Gretchen, with whom he often played in the PNC Championship. He was awarded the USGA’s Bob Jones Award for sportsmanship in 1985.

On December 30th this year, Tiger Woods turns 50, and questions about when or if he will ever return to pro golf abound. This week, Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams turns 62, and he’ll be in the thick of the biggest pro tournament in the world.

According to a report from Australian Golf Digest, Williams is coming out of retirement to caddie for an Australian pro who has eyes on an Aussie major title and the Masters invite it would bring.

Here’s what you need to know.

Steve Williams to caddie at 2025 Australian PGA Championship

From 1999-2011, Williams was on Tiger’s bag for many of his greatest achievements. The 13 majors they won together include the “Tiger Slam” in 2000-2001, and Woods’ epic broken-leg victory at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

After the pair’s contentious divorce in 2011, Scott went on to caddie for Adam Scott, who he helped to a Masters win in 2013.

He eventually retired from the full-time caddie life, occasionally popping up to carry Scott’s bag at majors and other big events.

‘He was remarkable’: Why Tiger Woods’ kind gesture shocked his ex-caddie

By:

Kevin Cunningham

In recent years, Williams has embraced retirement from golf, but he hasn’t stopped working entirely. He penned a memoir with Evin Priest about his time working with Woods called “Together We Roared,” which was released this year.

But now, Williams is lacing up his golf cleats again to get back into the caddie game. According to report from Priest in Australian Golf Digest, Williams will caddie for Australian pro Anthony Quayle at this week’s Australian PGA Championship.

Quayle, 31, was one of three pros who secured his DP World Tour card via the PGA Tour Australasia. The Aussie PGA will be the first start of his new membership on Europe’s premier tour.

Williams revealed his excitement about working for Quayle to Australian Golf Digest, saying, “Anthony’s had a lot of experience and he’s got the great opportunity this year of playing on the DP World Tour. It’s a first-time experience for him and he’s got the talent and ability. If I can pass on any information that might assist him in his journey, it’s worth it.”

Quayle told Australian Golf Digest that he expected playing with Williams as his caddie would be a “really cool experience.”

“I’m just incredibly fortunate that Steve was willing to come and help me out… I think having somebody like Steve on your bag, you can’t help but feel you’ve maybe got a 15th club in the bag. There’s a fair bit of experience and golf IQ that comes along with his career,” Quayle said.

Steve Williams eyeing another Masters start?

Between four Masters wins with Woods and one with Scott, Williams has immense experience at Augusta National.

His most recent appearance there was in 2023 working for Scott, who finished T39th that week. While Williams believed that would be his last time caddying at Augusta, now he has eyes on another start, this time carrying Quayle’s clubs.

Why Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie gave wrong yardages … when Woods was steamed

By:

Nick Piastowski

That’s because Williams isn’t just working as Quayle’s caddie this week, he’s also working for him at next week’s Australian Open. Beginning this year, the winner of the Australian Open gets an invite to the Masters.

And Williams thinks Quayle has “got the game” to compete there.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen him play up close and that should he be fortunate enough to get a win at the Australian Open, he’s got the game to play at Augusta,” Williams said.

The 2025 Australian PGA Championship begins Thursday, November 27th, with the Australian Open kicking off December 4th.

Notah Begay III wears multiple “insider” hats. As a former PGA Tour winner and current Golf Channel analyst, he’s a Tour insider. But he’s also something of a Tiger Woods insider.

As a longtime friend and confidante of the 15-time major champion, Begay’s predictions about Tiger carry some weight. His latest prediction? That Woods will indeed make his return to the PGA Tour soon. But not only that. Begay also suggested Tiger could play two Tour events he rarely, if ever, plays.

Notah Begay III talks Tiger Woods’ return

Begay’s long friendship with Woods began in junior golf and continued on the Stanford University golf team, then on the PGA Tour.

In the past, Begay has offered insight into Tiger’s thinking that could have been provided by none other than the Big Cat himself.

And right now, everyone wants to know what Tiger’s thinking. After competing in the inaugural TGL season early this year, it looked like Woods was primed for the 2025 season. But then Achilles surgery kept him out all year.

‘He was remarkable’: Why Tiger Woods’ kind gesture shocked his ex-caddie

By:

Kevin Cunningham

In October, Woods announced he’d undergone a disc-replacement operation on his back, further throwing his potential return date into doubt.

This week, Begay appeared on the Straight Facts Homie! podcast with host Trey Wingo, and he quickly addressed one of the biggest questions on golf fans’ minds: when, if ever, will Tiger Woods compete on the PGA Tour again?

Begay responded by not only predicting that he will return, but that he could do it at two unlikely tournaments, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial and the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island.

Why those events, which Tiger has played a combined one time? Begay explained that the only thing holding Tiger back from returing to pro golf is his ability to walk 72 holes.

“I think there’s a couple venues that could accommodate his current physical condition,” Begay said on the podcast. “I think the biggest problem, in the conversations that I’ve had with him, is the walking. That’s it. He hits it great, he’s in tremendous physical condition. His ball speeds are fast enough, they’re 175-180 which is adequate for the PGA Tour. It’s just can he walk 72 holes plus a pro-am? I don’t know, and that’s kind of the big question. So I think that a major championship venue with flatter terrain. Hilton Head with flatter terrain, Colonial with flatter terrain might be targets.”

He continued: “And those are venues that he’s never typically played at. He’s played Colonial once and never went back. And I don’t think he’s ever been to Hilton Head. So I think those are two things that you may see at some point.”

Begay also provided a reason as to why Woods would try and make yet another comeback. The inspiration comes from wanting to win his 83rd PGA Tour event, thereby breaking his current tie with Sam Snead for the most Tour wins in history.

“In his heart-of-hearts, 83 is a big number. It’s an important number,” Begay said.

And if not the PGA Tour, Begay admitted he’d love to have him play some PGA Tour Champions events, a desire many older pros have repeated.

“But we’re also dying to see himself on the Champions Tour, where he can take a cart!”

For the record, the 2026 RBC Heritage takes place April 16-19, one week after the 2026 Masters, another potential location for Woods’ return to pro golf. The 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge begins at Colonial on May 28.

How Tiger Woods and Notah Begay III became ‘pseudo-brothers’

In addition to providing insight on the current and future Tiger Woods, Begay also revealed what it was like meeting a young Tiger 40 years ago, when he was already dominating tournaments.

“Tiger and I have been friends since he was 9 years old, so over 40 years now,” Begay explained in his Straight Facts Homie! appearance.

They first met at a junior golf tournament that Begay’s older brother was competing in. But it was Tiger that drew Begay’s attention.

Tiger Woods watches Charlie Woods win state championship

By:

Kevin Cunningham

“I’d been hearing about this kid who had been winning tournaments by 15 and 20 shots. And I said I got to go watch this kid. And I got to run into a young Tiger Woods, age of 9, out there competing with older kids and beating older kids,” Begay revealed. “Just the pizzazz and the energy, and the way that he went about his business was really captivating, even at that age.”

Begay then shared how their initial meeting blossomed into a lifelong friendship.

“So after the round I went up and introduced myself to him and we became friends. We would meet at junior tournaments along the way. And we would stay together. [Tiger’s father Earl Woods] was always traveling with him, and my parents couldn’t travel because it was expensive. So Earl would always look out for me. He’d always make sure I had dinner. He always made sure I had a ride to the course,” Begay said. “So we became almost like pseudo-brothers and we carried that friendship into college.”

He also claimed that Woods was the greatest golfer ever and argued that playing witness to Tiger’s achievements throughout his career gives him the authority to make that call.

“So I’ve been there through every step of the way — the good, the bad, the ugly — with my friend. And I have the utmost respect for everything that he’s done. And nobody can really understand just how many mountains he had to climb to put those records up, and what he had to sacrifice to put those records up. But nobody ever worked harder at the game than Tiger Woods, and possibly nobody ever had more talent, which is why I consider him the best to ever play.”

You can watch Begay’s entire appearance on the Straight Facts Homie! podcast here.