Tiger Woods’ Major Absence Signals Golf’s New Era

Tiger Woods’ 2026 major championship season is over before it ever started, and golf is officially staring at a new reality.

Woods, a 15-time major champion, did not enter the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale before the deadline and is not currently exempt for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

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That means Tiger will miss all four majors for the second straight year and sit out eight consecutive major championships.

For a player who once defined major championship Sundays, the silence is jarring.

Woods, now 50, has not played a major round since the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he missed the cut.

Since his 2021 car crash, his major appearances have been rare and physically limited.

He has played in only eight majors during that stretch, completed 72 holes just twice and mixed in four missed cuts with two withdrawals.

The 2025 season was wiped out by injury. A torn Achilles before the Masters and another back surgery complicated any comeback plan.

Then, in 2026, his attempted return was derailed again after a March rollover crash in Jupiter, Florida, led to a DUI arrest and a reported rehabilitation stay overseas.

Tiger still owns lifetime access to the Masters and PGA Championship as a past winner, but the U.S. Open and Open Championship are different.

His automatic Open exemption as a former champion lasts until age 60, but he had to enter. The U.S. Open window for past champions is shorter, leaving him outside the field.

Phil Mickelson’s major status has also become uncertain. He missed the first two majors of 2026 and won’t try to qualify for the U.S. Open, the one major he never won.

He did enter the Open Championship, but his plans remain unclear.

For years, golf feared life after Tiger. Now it’s happening in real time.

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And the sport hasn’t collapsed.

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and a deeper wave of stars have kept the PGA Tour and major championship spotlight alive. Tiger’s absence still feels massive, but golf is no longer waiting on him to carry the show.

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