Rory McIlroy makes massive claim about Tiger Woods' future after Achilles tendon surgery: "Won't see him play golf"

Tiger Woods' friend and TGL co-founder Rory McIlroy has weighed in on the former's Achilles tendon surgery. Woods, 49, earlier revealed he ruptured his Achilles tendon during a practice session at home. This was bad news from the 15x Major champion for anyone who hoped to see him tee off at the Masters in Augusta in April.

While there is no clarity on when Woods will return to golf, McIlroy shared his thoughts. Currently at the TPC Sawgrass to compete in The Players Championship 2025, McIlroy, during a press conference, revealed that Woods won't play golf this year.

When asked about his reaction to Tiger Woods' injury, Rory McIlroy said (via Nuclr Golf's X handle):

"Yeah. It sucks. 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 okay. We obviously won't see him play golf this year, and hopefully we see him maybe play in 2026."

Further, Rory McIlroy was asked whether Tiger Woods will return to competitive golf. While McIlroy said Woods would try to make a comeback, he also added that this question can only be answered by Woods. However, he said that based on prior behavior, Woods would try to come back.

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What time will Rory McIlroy tee off in Round 1 of The Players Championship 2025?

While Tiger Woods will be out for the majority of the 2025 season, Rory McIlroy will compete and look to win more titles. As mentioned above, McIlroy will aim to win The Players Championship 2025 in his next stop on the PGA Tour. In Round 1 of the competition, he will be paired with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.

The trio will tee off at 1:29 PM from the 1st tee. Here is a detailed look at the pairings and tee timings for Round 1 of the 2025 Players Championship:

1st tee

• 7:40 a.m.: Chad Ramey, C.T. Pan, Vince Whaley
• 7:51 a.m.: Joel Dahmen, Patrick Rodgers, Chan Kim
• 8:02 a.m.: Beau Hossler, Mark Hubbard, Ben Silverman
• 8:13 a.m.: Rafael Campos, Davis Riley, Gary Woodland
• 8:24 a.m.: Joe Highsmith, Brian Campbell, Matt McCarty
• 8:35 a.m.: Patton Kizzire, Lucas Glover, Corey Conners
• 8:46 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris
• 8:57 a.m.: Davis Thompson, Stephan Jaeger, Tom Hoge
• 9:08 a.m.: Aaron Rai, Cam Davis, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• 9:19 a.m.: Robert MacIntyre, Max Homa, Sungjae Im
• 9:30 a.m.: Nate Lashley, Will Gordon, Rico Hoey
• 9:41 a.m.: Alejandro Tosti, Isaiah Salinda, Aldrich Potgieter
• 12:45 p.m.: Doug Ghim, Ryan Fox, Sami Valimaki
• 12:56 p.m.: Andrew Putnam, Charley Hoffman, Denny McCarthy
• 1:07 p.m.: Daniel Berger, Min Woo Lee, Rasmus Hojgaard
• 1:18 p.m.: Harris English, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose
• 1:29 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele
• 1:40 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Tommy Fleetwood
• 1:51 p.m.: Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay
• 2:02 p.m.: Nick Dunlap, Akshay Bhatia, Tom Kim
• 2:13 p.m.: Harry Hall, Chris Gotterup, Si Woo Kim
• 2:24 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Matt Kuchar, Adam Hadwin
• 2:35 p.m.: Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Mac Meissner
• 2:46 p.m.: Max McGreevy, Ryan Gerard, Frankie Capan III

10th tee

• 7:40 a.m.: Lanto Griffin, Andrew Novak, David Lipsky
• 7:51 a.m.: Keith Mitchell, Justin Lower, Nicolai Hojgaard
• 8:02 a.m.: Michael Kim, Alex Smalley, Sam Stevens
• 8:13 a.m.: Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman, Tony Finau
• 8:24 a.m.: Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas
• 8:35 a.m.: Russell Henley, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland
• 8:46 a.m.: Wyndham Clark, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth
• 8:57 a.m.: Thomas Detry, Sepp Straka, Nick Taylor
• 9:08 a.m.: J.T. Poston, Seamus Power, Mackenzie Hughes
• 9:19 a.m.: Chris Kirk, Luke List, Adam Svensson
• 9:30 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Matti Schmid, David Skinns
• 9:41 a.m.: Hayden Springer, Jesper Svensson, Will Chandler
• 12:45 p.m.: Henrik Norlander, Victor Perez, Ben Kohles
• 12:56 p.m.: Eric Cole, Ben Griffin, Max Greyserman
• 1:07 p.m.: J.J. Spaun, Jacob Bridgeman, Chandler Phillips
• 1:18 p.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Byeong Hun An, Adam Schenk
• 1:29 p.m.: Taylor Pendrith, Peter Malnati, Kurt Kitayama
• 1:40 p.m.: Brice Garnett, Matthieu Pavon, Camilo Villegas
• 1:51 p.m.: Austin Eckroat, Jake Knapp, Taylor Moore
• 2:02 p.m.: Nico Echavarria, Kevin Yu, Erik van Rooyen
• 2:13 p.m.: Karl Vilips, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
• 2:24 p.m.: K.H. Lee, Carson Young, Patrick Fishburn
• 2:35 p.m.: Trey Mullinax, Ryo Hisatsune, Laurie Canter
• 2:46 p.m.: Kris Ventura, Kevin Roy, Jackson Suber