Rory McIlroy hopes Tiger Woods plays again in 2026 - ESPN

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy doesn't believe golf fans will get to see Tiger Woods competing on the PGA Tour this season after the 15-time major champion had surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon.

But McIlroy said he wouldn't be surprised if Woods, 49, attempts another comeback from his latest setback.

«It sucks,» McIlroy said Wednesday. «Yeah, he doesn't have much luck when it comes to injuries and his body. Obviously, he was trying to ramp up to get ready for Augusta, and Achilles surgeries obviously aren't fun. Hoping he's in good spirits and hoping he's doing OK.»

In a statement posted Tuesday to social media, Woods said he was injured while ramping up his practice for the Masters on April 10-13 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Woods said Dr. Charlton Stucken of the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, performed a «minimally invasive» Achilles tendon repair, adding that he was recovering and resting at his home in south Florida.

«We obviously won't see him play golf this year, and hopefully we [will] see him maybe play in 2026,» McIlroy said. «He'll try. I know he'll try. But that's a question for him, not for me. I obviously don't know what's in his head, but judging by prior behavior, he'll definitely try.»

Woods was already trying to work his way back from microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back. It was believed to be the sixth surgery on his lower back in the past 10 years.

He also had faced a long recovery after suffering serious injuries to his right leg, foot and ankle in a February 2021 car wreck about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Woods told reporters that surgeons nearly had to amputate his right leg