Tiger Woods has his own rule on PGA Tour which no other player can access

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time and has been awarded certain privileges by the PGA Tour, including a ‘lifetime achievement exemption’

Legendary 15-time major champion Tiger Woods has been granted a unique exemption that no other golfer can claim. Despite being past his prime, he still enjoys the privilege of participating in certain events at his discretion.

Only Jack Nicklaus boasts more major championships than Woods. With his 82 PGA Tour victories, Woods is one of the most successful players in golf history, with his wins spanning three decades.

However, a series of injuries and surgeries have caused Woods to slide down the rankings, making it difficult for him to automatically qualify for top-tier tournaments. He recently missed the PGA Championship and urged fans not to be too ‘greedy’ watching on from home.

This led to the PGA Tour striking a deal allowing the 49-year-old unrestricted access to its eight signature events. These competitions have limited slots and offer significantly higher prize money than most others.

The world’s best golfers are drawn to these events, but the PGA Tour acknowledges Woods’ unique appeal to fans. The board passed a rule establishing a ‘lifetime achievement exemption category’ for active players with over 80 career titles.

Woods now has the option to participate in these signature events for the remainder of his career. He has been playing on a limited schedule for several years and last competed at the Genesis Invitational in 2024.

An Achilles surgery is expected to sideline Woods for most of the season. Adam Scott, a former rival, recently shared insights into the strategies Woods would use to ruthlessly assert his superiority over other players.

“Yeah, I played a bunch with him in practice rounds and stuff. I played a practice round with him that week of The Open at St Andrews in 2000. It was nuts, I was 19,” Scott shared with YouTuber Grant Horvat.

“Every area of his game was better than everyone else’s. Even his short game was like Phil Mickelson-esque. And then that ran across the board: driving, irons, putting, everything.

“But then, everything that went on around, the ‘Tiger Mania’ it was called back then, it was just so much. It was so new to golf, or at least [to] me at that point. I just don’t think we’d seen anything like that. It was wild to be around.

“[If you were a threat to him] he would just play games with you [in practice rounds]. He’d hit the wrong club. He’d challenge you.

“You’d hit a good shot and he’s like, ‘But can you draw it and hold it up against the wind like that?’ And you can’t. Just to make you feel inferior. He was a gamesman, he was the ultimate competitor.”

But it’s not in the sport of golf.

Like father, like daughter!

Tiger Woods’ eldest child, Sam Alexis, 17, marked a major milestone on May 16. She graduated from The Benjamin School in Palm Beach County, FL, according to The Palm Beach Post. That means that Woods is at the beginning of his empty nester years. Son Charlie, 16, is a part of the class of 2027, so he has a few years to go before graduation.

Sam will be heading to Stanford University in the fall, according to her alma mater’s Instagram post. The teen is following in her father’s footsteps as Woods attended the school with a golf scholarship in the fall of 1994, earning Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford’s Male Freshman of the Year.

Woods left Stanford after two years to pursue his professional career in golf at the age of 20. Unlike her younger brother, Sam did not pursue her father’s sport and played on her school’s soccer team and ran track and field. She placed second for the 2025 Palm Beach Post Pathfinder Award for sports, according to The Benjamin’s School May press release.

The golfer admitted to the Today show in May 2024 that Sam wasn’t a big fan of his sport for an understandable reason.

“You know, hey, when she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her,” Woods explained. “I had to pack, and I had to leave, and I would be gone for weeks and there was a negative connotation to it.”

Tiger Woods’s Absence Deeply Felt as PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Suffers Unexpected Blow

Just last year, Tiger Woods made headlines with his gritty return to the PGA Championship after a long three-year absence but ended up missing the cut. Even though he didn’t contend for the win, every swing, wince, and walk down the fairway had fans glued to their screens. Maybe that’s why the numbers last year were great. Unlike this year.

So we all know Woods has been fighting through another round of surgeries and setbacks. Last fall, he had a back procedure to ease the chronic pain that’s been haunting him for years. Just as fans were getting hopeful again, he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon this year in March. ‘As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab. Thank you for all the support.’ Tiger posted on X.   It’s sad, but he did not play the Masters and had to miss the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow as well. Now, it seems Woods’s absence has altered the whole vibe. We are not saying that the numbers are.

As per the latest reports, ESPN’s coverage of the first round of the 2025 PGA Championship drew 955,000 viewers, a whopping 15% drop from the 1,118,000 who tuned in for the same round in 2024. In 2024 as well, the viewership had witnessed an overall increase of 10% at Valhalla. One can argue it was the Woods effect! But is Woods’s absence the only reason numbers are low this year? Not really! Big names underperforming could also be behind this.

Golfers like McIlroy and defending champ Xander Schauffele faltered hard. Both of them were top favorites to win. “I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points,” said Rory on Golf Channel when the tournament started, but it seems like his spirit has gone down, as he finished tied 62nd with rounds of 74 and 69, sitting at +1 overall. Xander Schauffele also tied 62nd, finished even par after rounds of 72 and 71. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth ended up missing the cut. JT had good momentum going on, having won the RBC Heritage just a couple of weeks ago, and Speith was eyeing a career grand slam.

One can assume that when these fan favorites aren’t playing their best, it takes the excitement out of the tournament, and that hits the ratings and the viewership. So, the drop in viewership is understandable given the circumstances.

And it’s not just the PGA Championship feeling the heat. The PGA Tour itself has been riding a rough wave when it comes to viewership.

PGA Tour declining viewership

Over the past year, ratings for several big-name PGA Tour events, even those featuring star-studded fields, have seen obvious dips. According to Sports Business Journal, the 2024 Valspar Championship, even with a thrilling finish and recognizable names like Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele in contention, the final round drew only 1.886 million viewers, a significant 27% drop from the previous year’s 2.594 million.

Several factors seem to be at play. The ongoing PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf rivalry has scattered the fanbase, with some viewers feeling fatigued by the off-course drama, and the absence of Woods can be an obvious reason. Golf still has its die-hard fans, but if the sport wants to regain its prime-time buzz, it’ll need big names playing at their best and some fresh excitement to pull viewers back in.

TIGER Woods’ message to President Donald Trump during his White House visit has been revealed.

Golf icon Woods, 49, made a surprise trip to the nation’s capital last week.

He was pictured with a beaming smile alongside Senator Jim Banks during his visit.

Woods is recovering from surgery on a ruptured Achilles.

The 49-year-old recently went public over his relationship with Vanessa Trump.

He posted pictures with Donald Trump Jr’s ex-wife on Instagram in March confirming the romance.

And Wood’s message to the President last week at the White House was revealed by Golfweek.

The 15-time major winner went to Washington D.C. in his role as a PGA Tour player director.

And his purpose was a proposed deal with LIV Golf to reunite the sport.

Trump made the first foreign trip of his second term this week.

He went to Saudi Arabia for his first international stop since stepping back into the White House in January.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund has bankrolled the breakaway LIV series.

The President is a keen golfer and has played with Woods in the past.

He has also brokered talks between the PGA Tour and LIV over a reunification of the tours.

Woods’ reason for the White House visit was to represent the PGA Tour’s interests before Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia.

Trump told reporters that golf was not a subject that came up in his talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Woods appeared on CBS in February to talk about Trump’s impact on the talks.

He said, “I think we’re in a very positive place right now.

“We had a meeting with the President.

“Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay Monahan and Adam Scott, they did great during the meeting and we have another subsequent meeting coming up.

“I think that things are going to heal quickly.

“We’re going to get this game going in the right direction.

“It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years.

“The fans want all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen.”

The Live From crew reflects on Tiger Woods winning the 2000 PGA Championship over Bob May in a three-hole playoff at Valhalla Golf Club, sharing how the entertaining victory affected the legacy of various golf stars.

Tiger Woods made an impromptu visit to the White House before the 2025 U.S. PGA Championship but has not revealed why he was there.

Tiger Woods will not be teeing it up at the US PGA Championship but the golfer did make a notable appearance before the second men’s major of the year. 

Woods, 49, made a surprise visit to the White House in Washington last Friday evening.

Senator Jim Banks of Indiana shared a photograph alongside the 15-time major champion.

Woods, who was wearing a sharp navy blue suit, beamed ear-to-ear as he stood alongside the Republican.

It is Woods’ second trip to the White House in 2025 following his February meeting with Donald Trump, PGA Tour officials and figures from the rival LIV Golf League.

Woods has not revealed why he took the trip last week and did not share any information about it on his social media channels.

One potential reason why Woods was at the White House

Woods’ personal life hit the headlines once again in 2025.

Following weeks of intense speculation, Woods confirmed on 22 March that he was dating Vanessa Trump.

He split with former girlfriend Erica Herman acrimoniously in October 2022.

Woods released a bizarre statement confirming his new love interest.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side,” he wrote.

“We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time, we would appreciate privacy to all those close to our hearts.”

Vanessa is the ex-wife of president Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

She is also the mother of the president’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, who is a burgeoning golf social media star.

Kai was spotted attending TGL events earlier in the year and sat in the bleachers alongside Woods’ teenage son Charlie.

They both attend the same school in Florida.

Charlie was in action last week as he attempted to qualify for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Unfortunately, Charlie came up short.