Next season, Tiger Woods is seriously considering competing on the PGA Tour Champions. The 50-year-old legend wants to compete against other veterans who know his game. This move could change the entire landscape of senior golf forever. Two-time season champion Steven Alker says the talk in the locker room is that Woods is ready to return. He wants to win big events, especially the US Senior Open.
Winning that one trophy would let Woods move ahead of Bobby Jones. Woods and Bobby Jones are tied at nine USGA national championships. A U.S. Senior Open victory would give Woods his tenth and put him ahead of Jones. Alker told reporters at a Phoenix Country Club media day that Woods is serious about this plan. The 15-time major champion has been limited by injuries in recent years. The senior circuit offers a different challenge with golf carts and shorter rounds. This setup gives Woods a much better chance to win tournaments again.
The Real Hurdle Is Not The Body
Woods is not the only topic on the minds of senior players. A huge split has formed over whether LIV Golf veterans should be allowed back on tour. The current season ends next week with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. But the 2027 campaign is already causing heated debates among the membership. Some players want recognizable names to bring more eyes and money to the tour. Others refuse to welcome golfers who left for lucrative contracts elsewhere.
Alker called the situation a “Catch-22” during his media session. “We want players to keep the profile of the tour up,” Alker said, according to Yahoo Sports. “And then you got guys on the tour who don’t want those guys at all.” He admitted that the Player Advisory Council has discussed this issue extensively. The tour’s membership remains divided over whether returning LIV players should face the same suspension rules as other golfers. The tour needs to decide if past choices matter more than future revenue.
Friends Want Him, But The Tour Fights
Woods has friends on the circuit who really want him to play their events. Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk host invitationals that would fit his schedule perfectly. Alker believes Woods will come out if he gets fit and is in the right mind. “I seriously think he’ll come out if he gets fit and in the right mind,” Alker said. The US Senior Open remains the biggest draw for the former world number one. He currently shares the record with nine USGA titles alongside Bobby Jones.
The senior tour lost its PGA Tour pension payments and must now stand on its own. Big names are essential for sponsorship dollars and television interest. Yet the internal conflict over LIV players reveals deep fractures within the community. Some feel that rewarding defectors hurts the integrity of the game. Others argue that excluding them limits the tour’s growth potential. The debate will continue as the season finale approaches in mid-November.
The final event is set for November 12-15, and Stewart Cink tops the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Zach Johnson and Alker follow closely behind in the race for the title. For the first time since 2007, Bernhard Langer will be absent from the championship. He finished 45th in the season-long standings and did not qualify. Thirty-six players earned spots on points, though suspended golfer Matt Gogel is ineligible despite qualifying.
