While Tiger Woods battles to simply walk a golf course again, he’s quietly taking on a role that could reshape the very Tour he once dominated. For the unaware, just over a month ago, Tiger Woods announced his seventh back surgery. This meant he was going to be more involved off the course, with the PGA Tour’s Future Competition Committee, a thought that gained traction with the news of the Tour possibly making changes to its schedule. At least, Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner claimed the same during a recent discussion on the Golf Channel Podcast.

Initially, Hoggard dismissed the thought that the changes, including cutting down signature events, would come soon. “He [Brian Rollapp] probably can’t do it [cutting down signature events] before 2027. You probably can’t do it before 2030, to be honest with you,” Hoggard claimed. Plus, “there’s a handful of players who are on there: Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Keith Mitchell, Maverick McNeely, Camila Vijas—those are the players who are in the room. It [schedule changes] is far from a done deal, but I cannot imagine that [English’s statements] went over pretty well at PGA HQ,” Lavner added during the discussion.

The conversation gained attention after PGA Tour pro Harris English claimed the Tour may start its season post-Super Bowl, and cut down many of its iconic events post-2026 season. On one hand, Lavner said it’s hard to take Harris’ claim “seriously and genuinely because this was just one of the ideas.” In fact, the Future Competition Committee, chaired by Woods, has only met once so far. But if such changes come anyway, the golf world would find better answers from the people actually involved with the decision. Like, Tiger Woods. 

But Lavner and Hoggard’s statements mean that whether the PGA Tour is planning on cutting down events or increasing them, they likely won’t do it before several of the Tour’s contracts expire in 2030. And when that happens, expect Woods to be present during the announcements. Now, that’s a little less surprising. The Future Competition Committee, announced in August and chaired by Woods, was formed to help define “the optimal competitive model that enhances the PGA TOUR’s value to fans, players, and partners.” So, Woods will be involved anyway.

On the other hand, even though English’s comments might sound surprising, fans will probably see some of these changes in the next few years. Still, as mentioned earlier, Woods’s working behind the scenes isn’t too surprising, especially since things don’t seem to be going well for the Woods outside it.

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Notah Begay III says Tiger Woods is struggling to walk

“I think there are a couple of venues that could accommodate his current physical condition. I think the biggest problem in the conversations that I’ve had with him is the walking. That’s it,” Notah Begay III, Tiger Woods’s friend since junior golf, recently revealed in the Straight Facts Homie podcast.

Begay agreed that Woods “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,” but then asks, “It’s just, can he walk 72 holes plus a pro-am? I don’t know, and that’s the big question.”

This comes a little more than a month after Woods had surgery to replace a disc in his lower back. And although Woods often goes public to cheer on his son, Charlie Woods, it also helps to remember that he hasn’t played since The Open 2024. Still, if Woods returns to the Tour next year, Begay believes he’ll likely aim for two events: the Charles Schwab Challenge and the RBC Heritage.

On the other hand, if Woods does make a return to competitive golf anyway (considering the health setbacks), Begay would rather have him at the Senior Tour. At least, he confessed so. “We’re also dying to see him on the Champions Tour. He can take a cart, and the walking becomes alleviated at that point.” Woods will turn 50 on December 30, so he will be eligible for the Senior Tour from next year onwards. The question, though, now remains: does Woods now prefer playing or working behind the scenes?

After all, he is important in both places.