A WD from the Genesis Invitational. A missed cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods, unfortunately, hasn’t had the best of forms in 2024. But not to worry, as the legend of the game has now come face to face with a favorable move regardless of his recent poor form on the men’s circuit, courtesy of the PGA Tour Policy Board.
A meeting was already scheduled to take place on Tuesday, as per reports from Golf.com’s Sean Zak, when the PAC was to discuss the 48-year-old’s lifetime exemption into signature events. The writer himself came forward to confirm the decision taken by the Policy Board in favor of Woods as he shared a tweet on X, “During today’s meeting, PGA Tour Policy Board APPROVED a new Lifetime Achievement exemption category for Tiger Woods to access Signature Events. “
That’s not all there is to it. The PAC also brought in new changes to the elevated events on the circuit, including the approval of a 72-player minimum field for the same. Moreover, the tournament is to also keep an alternate list to maintain the same number of athletes in the field in the event of a golfer pulling out or WD.
The alternate list would be based on the current FedEx Cup rankings for those athletes who are not already eligible for the elevated event. There was widespread discontentment among the players when the field for the signature events went below 70, especially at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where Scottie Scheffler emerged victorious. The tournament at the Bay Hill Golf Course, as a result, saw the likes of Nick Dunlap being forced to start the contest without any pairings.
The lifetime exemption, meanwhile, will reportedly kick in place from 2025 for the Hall of Famer. The move was sanctioned by the board specifically for Woods, owing to him being a “player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement.” Throughout his 28-year-long professional career, the golfer has raked in a whopping 82 wins on the PGA Tour, not to mention the 15 major titles he boasts. But all of this would be for naught if the rumors surrounding his retirement became a reality.
The golfer, after the second round of the recently concluded U.S. Open, divulged his plans for the rest of the season. “I’ve only got one more tournament this season,” said Woods while alluding to the upcoming Open Championship. The 48-year-old also mentioned how he wouldn’t play at the FedEx Cup playoffs even if he raked in his 16th major title at Royal Troon; “I don’t think even if I win the British Open I don’t think I’ll be in the Playoffs.”
But the surprise came when he vaguely replied to a question regarding the recent major being his last one. He said, “As far as my last Open Championship or U.S. Open Championship, It may or may not be,” while shying away from confirming the same. But that was enough to spark questions about his retirement from the sport.
