Rickie Fowler Makes Emotional Admission After Tiger Woods’ Crucial Injury Update
Tiger Woods was recovering from his seventh back surgery, but fans hoped to see him at his TGL 2 match against the New York Golf Club. Although the 15x major champion didn’t compete, he did show up at the SoFi Center. And he brought along a positive health update that got Rickie Fowler emotionally overwhelmed.
“Yeah, we’re good buddies. It’s been fun to get to know Tiger more and more, definitely over the last 15 years. Yeah, he’s a good friend, and to have him here hopefully helped us maybe boost some ratings that weren’t going to come from us just playing. That helps us, him showing up. I thought that was cool for him to be out and be a part of it. It’s just different when he’s around,” Rickie Fowler responded when asked about how he felt after seeing Tiger Woods.
“He’s still obviously the biggest needle mover in the sport. No one is going to argue that. So yeah, it was fun to have him around tonight.”
As Woods approached the 6x PGA Tour winner, he gave him a big bear hug, marking their long, friendly relationship.
In 2021, the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic winner visited Woods’ house to watch the Masters together. They also went to the 2022 BMW Championship together for discussions on LIV Golf.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods‘ presence would have surely helped with viewership and ticket sales. Remember his 2021 debut at the PNC Championship with son Charlie Woods?
The event drew 4.8 million viewers, up 53% compared to 2020, and the highest since 2000. The same goes for his 2018 Tour Championship victory, which spiked final round viewership by 206% compared to the previous year.
While the 15x major champion didn’t play the event, he hit a few strokes before the match officially started. And that was mostly because of his positive health update.
“Well, I’m moving up to short irons, so that’s about it. I need a little bit more than that to be able to play here. At my speed right now, I could probably play the Stinger hole. Just kind of roll it off the tee. But no, I’m progressing, which is nice. I’m getting there and getting stronger,” Tiger Woods shared.
Woods underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery on his L4/5 spine in October 2025: his 7th back surgery since 2014. Since then, he has been on a break from golf for recovery. However, he has been making public appearances from time to time, such as filming an ad or cheering for Charlie Woods at the 62nd Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship.
However, he is still not clear about playing all the clubs in his bag. He has only moved to short irons and will need some more time before playing in an event.
But Tiger Woods’ cheer may not have done much for his team!
Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club fared poorly against Fowler’s New York Golf ClubJupiter Links Golf Club made its TGL Season 2 debut against the New York Golf Club on January 13, 2026. The New York GC had already played the season opener and lost to Atlanta Drive Golf Club. But this time, it won despite the cheers and all the support Tiger Woods offered to Jupiter Links GC.
The New York GC had Rickie Fowler in the team, who was absent from the season opener match because of injuries. It defeated Jupiter Links GC with a score of 8-3, staging a strong comeback from 3-1 down at the start.
All four members of the New York GC were present, including Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, and Cameron Young. However, Xander Schauffele didn’t play, as the opposing team had only three members.
Jupiter Links GC had Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Akshay Bhatia, who was replacing Tom Kim.
The Jupiter Links GC managed three points, all of which came during the Triples on holes 1, 2, and 4. The New York GC staged a comeback from hole 5. They won 8 points, five from Triples and three from Singles. Two of these Singles points came from Rickie Fowler’s win against Akshay Bhatia.
Bhatia’s Hammer throw backfired, as Fowler drained a 14-foot birdie putt for 2 points.
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