Everyone knows that Tiger Woods used to wear red on Sundays. He has made it a tradition that many fans follow today. But wearing red was just one of the many rituals he had, some of them even dating back to his junior golf era. One of them was his routine of wearing tape on his middle finger. While fans focused more on his swing and legendary composure, the tape routine has sparked curiosity without much explanation. Speaking in a video uploaded by him and Sun Day Red on Instagram, the 82-time PGA Tour winner revealed the reason behind it.

“So this tape started because I get a blister and a callous on my middle finger. And so I end up taking a piece of tape, taking it so and I always do two wraps around the finger. So it’s one and two. And it’s always a little bit of change. It’s always right underneath the middle. And then if I practice a lot, sometimes I’ll get another callous or a blister on my ring finger. So I’ll tape that, but generally it’s just on my middle finger. And I’ve done that basically since junior golf,” Tiger Woods said in the video.

Golfers need to swing their clubs repeatedly. These swings are high-force and dependent on a small contact area between the fingers and the grip. Thus, continuous practice or play can result in blisters and calluses. Some fans may see it as vanity or superstition. However, consistency in his responses proves otherwise.

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In August 2019, Golf TV introduced a new TV segment. As part of that, Tiger Woods’ caddie Joe LaCava asked him some fan questions, and one of them was about the tape. The 15-time major champion responded by saying that his father believed that five fingers helped the most with club control, the bottom three on the left hand and the middle two on the right. Since wearing a glove protected his left hand, he used to wear tape on the middle finger of his right hand to prevent a callous he developed from splitting and bleeding.

However, Tiger Woods isn’t the only golfer to follow this routine. Many others wear tape to protect their fingers. Justin Leonard and Rickie Fowler were both famous for wearing tape on their fingers. Justin Thomas was also wearing tape at last week’s The Open. But he was wearing it on his left wrist to provide support. When asked about it, he said that it was a precautionary measure because the turf at Royal Birkdale was very firm.

It’s a routine the veteran has followed since his junior golf days, but it’s not the only one he has developed over the years.

Routines and traditions that Tiger Woods follows in golf

Tiger Woods has long been defined by routines that make his preparation look mechanical. He described himself as a “creature of habit,” which reflects how much of a traditionalist he is.

Speaking with Golf TV in 2019, he opened up about many traditions and superstitions he has. One of them was that he pays tribute to his father in every game he plays. The veteran golfer revealed that he always carries a quarter from the year 1932 because it was his father’s birth year.

He even had specific pockets to carry tees, yardage books, and pin sheets. He always carried three tees in his right pocket, while his yardage book went into his back right pocket. Similarly, if he carried a pin sheet, it would without fail go in his front left pocket.

Apart from these, there’s his famous Sunday red tradition. The story he has told the media is that his mother, Kultida, believed that red was his power color. Therefore, he started wearing it in junior golf. He won often enough times to stick with it in professional golf, too. He even tried to rebel once by wearing blue, but since he lost wearing that color, he went back to red.

Tiger Woods has built his career around routines that rarely change, and his finger-taping habit fits that same philosophy. Whether he returns to competitive golf or continues making appearances through Sun Day Red, the tape will likely stay part of the picture, a small, consistent detail in a career defined by them, and a reminder that even his smallest habits usually trace back to a reason.