Tiger Woods has been granted exclusive access to elements of the PGA Tour (Image: Getty)
Tiger Woods is given special access on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods was once granted an exemption that no other golfer has access to. The legendary 15-time major champion is past his best but can still attend certain events whenever he pleases.
Only Jack Nicklaus has won more major championships than Woods. His 82 PGA Tour victories make him one of the most successful players in the sport’s history, with his triumphs spanning over three decades. However, a succession of injuries and surgeries have seen Woods tumble down the rankings and he cannot always qualify for the biggest tournaments automatically.
That is why the PGA Tour agreed a deal for the 49-year-old to have unconditional access to the eight signature events. There are very limited spaces available for these competitions and the prize money is significantly higher than most others.
The best players in the world flock to the events, but the PGA Tour recognise that Woods has a unique draw for fans. Its board passed a rule to create a ‘lifetime achievement exemption category’ for active players with over 80 career titles.
Woods will have access to the signature events for the rest of his career, if he chooses to enter. He has played on a limited schedule for several years and last participated competitively at the Genesis Invitational in 2024. Achilles surgery is expected to rule Woods out for most of the season.
Former rival Adam Scott recently revealed the tactics Woods would deploy just to brutally hammer home the fact that he was better than everyone else.
“Yeah, I played a bunch with him in practice rounds and stuff. I played a practice round with him that week of The Open at St Andrews in 2000. It was nuts, I was 19,” Scott told YouTuber Grant Horvat.
“Every area of his game was better than everyone else’s. Even his short game was like Phil Mickelson-esque. And then that ran across the board: driving, irons, putting, everything. But then, everything that went on around, the ‘Tiger Mania’ it was called back then, it was just so much. It was so new to golf, or at least [to] me at that point. I just don’t think we’d seen anything like that. It was wild to be around.
“[If you were a threat to him] he would just play games with you [in practice rounds]. He’d hit the wrong club. He’d challenge you. You’d hit a good shot and he’s like, ‘But can you draw it and hold it up against the wind like that?’ And you can’t. Just to make you feel inferior. He was a gamesman, he was the ultimate competitor.”
