Not many things would surprise you in modern day golf, but US President Donald Trump breaking the news of Tiger Woods' Masters availability is certainly one of them.
And yet here we are, with President Trump appearing on TV to express with seeming certainty the answer to one of the big questions in golf right now - will Tiger Woods play in The Masters?
It's one of the big talking points heading into the opening Major of the year, whether the five-time Green Jacket winner will be able to tee it up at Augusta National for yet another miraculous comeback.
Tiger himself didn't seem to have a definitive answer the last time he spoke about it, but Donald Trump seems pretty sure.
"I love Tiger, but he won't be there," Trump said on Fox News. "He'll be there but he won't be playing in it."
Woods will indeed be at Augusta this year, to sample Rory McIlroy's Champions Dinner and also open a new project The Patch at Augusta Municipal Golf Course.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner has had a dreadful run of injuries over the last year, but made his first competitive swings back in public during the recent TGL final for his Jupiter Links GC.
The 15-time Major champion hasn't played in a regular outdoor tournament since the PNC Championship in late 2024 alongside son Charlie, with Achilles surgery last March followed by his seventh back surgery last October.
🚨❌🐅 #BREAKING — U.S. President Donald Trump reveals that Tiger Woods will NOT be playing in the 2026 Masters Tournament. “He’ll be there but he won’t be playing in it.” @TWlegion (Via: @TheFive / @FoxNews) pic.twitter.com/8nf3KkgWhQMarch 26, 2026
Woods is remaining hopeful he can play at The Masters though, and gave his fans hope with his comments after that final loss in TGL.
"As I said, I've been trying," said Woods. "I've been trying for a while. I've had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I've had to fight through and it's taken some time. But I keep trying. I want to play.
"I love the tournament. I've loved being there since I was 19 years old. It's meant a lot to me and my family over the years."
Will Tiger Woods play in The Masters?
Does Donald Trump know something we don't? As unlikely as it seems there is a route to some direct knowledge here, with Woods in a relationship with Vanessa Trump - the ex-wife of Trump's son Don Jr.
Woods then obviously spends a lot of time with Trump's granddaughter and aspiring golfer Kai so it's not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that the President has some inside knowledge.
Trump says a lot of things with authority though, so it's almost certainly an opinion rather than a matter of fact - as going on Woods' last comments not even he knows for sure.
It's more likely to be a game time decision for Woods, who will try and work on his game for longer periods and see how his body reacts before taking on the challenge of a seriously tough walk around Augusta.
And he'll want to be sure he can compete and complete at least two rounds at Augusta to extend his record 24 consecutive made cuts at The Masters.
We'll take it for what it is, a mere throwaway comment, but regardless, the President of the United States breaking big golf news on live TV? This sport is never short of headlines these days.
