Tiger Woods will miss The Masters after deciding to take a break from golf to “seek treatment” following a car crash that led to a driving-under-the-influence charge, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley has confirmed.
Woods announced he was “stepping away for a period of time” after the incident in Florida last Friday. He has pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge but acknowledged looking at his phone moments before the crash. A police report said two hydrocodone pills, an opioid pain medication, were found in his pocket after a search.
Ridley said in a statement: “Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament fully support Tiger Woods as he focuses on his well-being. Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt here in Augusta.”
The 50-year-old, a five-time Masters champion (most recently in 2019), had not said outright that he would miss the tournament running April 9-12 during his Sky Sports appearance, but the club’s confirmation ended speculation. Woods had been due to attend a Sunday ceremony for the opening of “The Patch,” a municipal course in Augusta he helped design, and was expected at the Champions Dinner on April 7.
Woods had been absent from Augusta in 2025 because of injury and has not played regularly since a serious car crash in 2021 that caused significant injuries. A brief return in the TGL finals in late March for Jupiter Links Golf Club — his first competitive action in about 13 months — had raised hopes he might tee it up at Augusta this year, but those hopes are now over.
Since the 2021 crash and an earlier incident when he was found asleep at the wheel, Woods has managed a limited schedule amid ongoing injury management and recovery.
Analysis: Masters Would Have Been a Circus, Says Jamie Weir
Sky Sports Golf podcast host and reporter Jamie Weir said Woods’ absence was the right decision. “I think it would have been a complete circus, a complete sideshow,” he said. Weir suggested Woods’ competitive days are likely behind him, noting limited meaningful competition since his 2021 crash and saying: “I think we will see Tiger on a golf course again but I don’t think he will ever be competitive again.”
Weir added that the immediate questions concern Woods’ roles off the course — including his place on the PGA Tour board and prospects like captaining the US Ryder Cup side — and urged fans to stop placing undue pressure on him to return to top-level competition.
Analysis: Brandel Chamblee Hails Potential New Role
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee welcomed Woods’ admission that he needs help, saying it could lead to an influential role as an elder statesman shaping the future of golf. “To see him acknowledge that he has got a serious problem is great for him and his family and far down the road it is great for the game of golf,” Chamblee said.
Chamblee said Woods has already given enormously through his competitive achievements and suggested his most important contributions going forward might be off the course: “When Tiger is clear-eyed and clear thinking, it is obvious he is very smart, very thoughtful, very respectful of the game’s past and very concerned with the game’s future.” He added that Woods’ physical limits and history of surgeries and pain management make a sustained return to elite competition unlikely.
Woods’ legal situation remains pending. Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed his arrest and charge on March 27. The golfing community and Augusta National have expressed support as Woods focuses on his health and treatment.