There can be no more interesting story than that of Tiger Woods’ comeback to competitive golf. He did play one of the TGL Season 2’s finales as part of his Jupiter Links Golf Club team, which raised fans’ hopes that he would play the 2026 Masters. However, President Donald Trump claimed he wouldn’t, making everything uncertain again. Now, another surprising turn of events suggests he could be making a comeback, but not where hopes were blooming.

Joel Beall shared an X post confirming that Tiger Woods is one of the entrants into the U.S. Senior Open. The event will run from July 2 to July 5, 2026.

“Tiger has entered the championship, simply to ensure eligibility,” a USGA spokesperson said, “but will not make a decision about playing until a later date,” Beall wrote in the post.

Tiger Woods turned 50 on December 30, 2025. This made him eligible to play on the senior circuit. Since then, there have been many talks about the Big Cat playing with other legends. Lucas Glover, for example, said that if the 82x PGA Tour winner plays there, it could help the senior circuit attract even more fans and eyeballs than the PGA Tour.

Even the PGA Tour Champions president, Miller Brady, confirmed that preparations had already begun to welcome him on the tour with some whiteboarding a year before Woods turned 50.

“The answer is yes, we’re ready. We’re well prepared,” Brady said.

Although the 15x major champion is not confirmed to play the event, it is still a good sign.

The timing is also very important, as it has been only hours since President Donald Trump claimed that Tiger Woods won’t play the Masters 2026.

“I love Tiger, but he won’t be there,” Trump said on “The Five” on FOX News. “He’ll be there, but he won’t be playing in it.”

The Masters Tournament is probably one of Tiger Woods’ favorite events of the year. That’s the reason he looks to play it almost every year. In fact, he has missed it only five times since his debut, including 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2025.

As a past champion, he is eligible to play the event if he wants. And with only a couple of weeks remaining for the Masters, it is becoming even more intriguing to know if he will play or not.

His remarks after playing the TGL Season 2 finale do give a glimpse into his thinking.

Tiger Woods’ TGL Season 2 debut

Since Woods was likely not going to play any event on the PGA Tour ahead of the Masters 2026, the only chance he had to practice competitively was at the TGL Season 2’s 2nd finale on March 24, 2026. Kevin Kisner also believed the same. He even said that if Woods plans to play at Augusta National, he has to play the finals because if he couldn’t walk the 30 yards at the SoFi Center, he could not play the Masters.

Ironically, Tiger Woods did play the final round, and he replaced Kevin Kisner. The results weren’t that good, though, as Woods’ team lost to the Los Angeles Golf Club.

“It felt great to be back with the guys tonight. Frustrated; we didn’t get it done,” the 5x Masters winner said at the press conference after the loss.

While the event left the 50-year-old frustrated, he did say something positive. When the media asked him about his health, he said, “It was fine physically.” And almost everyone thought of the Masters in unison.

Tiger Woods will certainly be there at Augusta National for the Champions Dinner. However, playing in the event is another thing. Until now, there have been only speculations, rumors, and hopes, but there’s no confirmation from the American professional or the Masters’ management team.