Tiger Woods: Worsening Form No Concern as ‘Lifetime Exemption’ Gets Approved by PGA Tour in Massive Move
A WD from the Genesis Invitational. A missed cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods isn’t in top form in 2024. But don’t worry, thanks to the PGA Tour policy committee, the legend of the game is facing beneficial action despite his recent poor form in men’s events. Golf.com’s Shawn Zak reports that a meeting has already been scheduled for Tuesday, when the PAC will discuss a lifetime exemption from the 48-year-old’s signature event. The writer himself came forward to confirm the policy committee’s decision in Woods’ favor, sharing a tweet about X, tweeting: ”
That’s not all. The PAC also made new changes to the circuit’s senior tournaments, including approving a minimum field size of 72 players. Additionally, the tournament will also maintain an alternate roster to maintain the same number of athletes in the field in the event that a golfer withdraws or WDs.
The alternate list will be determined based on the current FedEx Cup rankings of athletes who are not yet eligible to compete at the advanced level. Frustration spread among players when entries for signature tournaments dipped below 70, most notably the Arnold Palmer Invitational, won by Scottie Scheffler, resulting in players like Nick Dunlap having to start the tournament without a pair at Bay Hill Golf Course.
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 that would be for naught if the rumors around his retirement became true.
The golfer, after the recently concluded second round of the US Open, revealed his plans for the rest of the season. “I only have one more tournament this season,” Woods said, referring to the upcoming Open Championship. The 48-year-old also said he wouldn’t take part in the FedExCup playoffs even if he won his 16th title at Royal Troon: “Even if I won the British Open, I don’t think I’d be in the playoffs.”
But what surprised me was when he was vague when asked if the last part was his forte. “When it comes to the last British Open and the last U.S. Open, maybe, maybe not,” he said, avoiding confirmation. But it was enough to raise questions about his retirement from the sport.