Tiger Woods won’t be at The Masters next week, but he’s still got his sense of humor. The golf legend, now 49, pulled off a perfect April Fools’ joke that had some TV anchors briefly fooled.
Woods took to social media with a playful announcement: he’d somehow recovered from his ruptured Achilles in just weeks thanks to “sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber plus explosive lifts.” He even claimed his doctors had cleared him for The Masters.
Minutes later, he followed up with the punchline: “P.S. April Fools, my Achilles is still a mess :)”
The joke caught CNBC’s Squawk Box team off guard. They started celebrating the news on air before realizing the date – April 1st.
The reality is much different for the 15-time Major champion. Woods ruptured his Achilles while practicing at home in February, requiring surgery at West Palm Beach’s Hospital for Special Surgery.
“The Achilles tendon is one of the strongest in the body – and one of the most commonly ruptured,” explains Professor Nima Heidari, a top orthopedic surgeon at The London Clinic.
For most people, including elite athletes, full recovery takes 9 months to a year. Even the best-case scenario is about six months.
That timeline means Woods likely won’t play competitive golf before his 50th birthday in December. It’s a tough break for the five-time Masters champion, who’s won an incredible 82 PGA Tour events in his career.
There might be a chance we’ll see him play again this year – either at the Hero World Challenge in December or the PNC Championship with his son Charlie. At the 2024 PNC Championship, they finished second, losing in a playoff to Bernhard and Jason Langer.
If not, Woods might wait until next February’s Genesis Invitational for his comeback. Or, facing another lengthy recovery at 49, he could decide it’s time to step away from pro golf altogether.
But given his legendary competitiveness and love for the game, don’t count him out just yet.
