Tiger Woods’ latest pictures show tape on fingers in photoshoot for Sun Day Red’s $250 golf shoes

Tiger Woods just dropped a small photoshoot for his brand-new shoes. Sun Day Red has officially launched its first pair of golf shoes. They were designed from the ground up with Woods heavily involved, and the brand showed them off on X (formerly Twitter).

The shoes are the central focus, but there's something else eye-catching. In one photo, Woods appears to have some tape on his fingers. There is no stated reason for this, but tape on fingers often signifies an injury.

It is often used to pair two fingers together to keep the injured one straight and allow it to heal properly. Woods isn't playing in the Hero World Challenge, so it won't hamper him anyway.

The reason he's not playing this weekend in the tournament he hosts is a recent surgery. Woods had surgery to relieve a microdecompression of his spine after the PGA Tour season and he's still recovering.

He admitted before the Hero World Challenge that he didn't anticipate his back deteriorating through the year as it did, but that's why he had to get the procedure. Woods made five starts in 2024, including all four of the Majors. He made the cut just once out of those five starts.

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Tiger Woods addresses never-ending merger discussions

The merger between the PIF and the PGA Tour has been agreed to since the summer of 2023. It has been 18 months since then, and it's still not finalized.

Tiger Woods spoke on the PIF merger (Image via Getty)

Tiger Woods, the vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises and a member of the Policy Board, touched on the subject ahead of the Hero World Challenge and said (via ESPN):

"I think all of us who have been a part of this process would have thought it would have happened quicker than this. Even if it did, we're still at the regulations of the DOJ saying it's giving us [assurance] that it will go through. Even if we had gotten a deal done by now, it's still in the DOJ's hands."

Woods acknowledged the legal hurdles the merger has had to face and is still going through. Despite that, the golfer certainly wishes there was something "more concrete and further along" than the current status, which most of the world has no information on.

He said:

"Things are very fluid, we're still working through it, it's happening daily. From a policy board standpoint or from an enterprise standpoint, things are moving and they're constructive. But yes, definitely moving."

Rory McIlroy expressed hope that Donald Trump's election might speed things up. The incoming president himself said before the election that he'd have the merger done in '15 minutes'. Ultimately, things are still moving, as Woods pointed out, albeit slowly towards the conclusion.