Why does the PGA Tour still need Tiger Woods?

The flawed figure the PGA Tour used to roll out its most significant competitive overhaul in years awaits DUI charges in Florida after he flipped his SUV less than three months ago. Five years ago, he drove recklessly enough on winding roads near Los Angeles that he could have killed himself (or others). At age 50, he faces real questions about whether he’ll ever be able to compete again.

There is a real codependency between the PGA Tour and Tiger Woods. It was on display Tuesday in Hartford, Conn., where tour CEO Brian Rolapp welcomed the 15-time major champion back to public life with open arms and without questions about his health, physical or mental. When The Athletic approached Woods after Rolapp’s press conference, he said, “Not right now.”

Well, when? When will Woods publicly take responsibility for his dangerous behavior? And when, if he doesn’t, will the tour be strong enough to say, “That’s enough. We’re moving on.”?

Look, this is delicate. There’s no sense — and there’s even a lack of responsibility — in speculating on Woods’ personal state of being. We can all hope Tiger’s rehab stint in Switzerland was long enough and productive enough that he has returned to his sport’s orbit a changed person who not only doesn’t seemingly rely on prescription painkillers to get through the day but also doesn’t jump behind the wheel while doing so. That’s just a baseline measure of improvement. If you’re there, Tiger, sincerest congratulations. Each day can be a struggle. But each day can be a victory, too.

But there are also real questions about making Woods the pitchman for a reshaped tour when it’s fair to ask whether he’s fit to be the face of anything at the moment. Surgery to replace a disc in his back — the latest of a seemingly infinite list of procedures Woods has undergone in the past decade-and-a-half — has him on the competitive shelf at the moment. He hasn’t played a competitive round in nearly two years, since the 2024 Open Championship.

Shouldn’t the tour be turning to Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy or — imagine this — Wyndham Clark to lead the tour forward? Rolling Tiger out after the car wreck and rehab and all the rest immediately makes the new shape of the tour — which is significant — golf’s second-biggest story of the day. That’s a missed opportunity and a self-inflicted wound.

So the codependence is real. As beat-up as Woods’s reputation is, he remains the most important figure in the history of the sport. The top eight players in the current world rankings have combined for 14 majors and 83 PGA Tour victories. Woods had 15 and 82, respectively, on his own. More than that, the tour wouldn’t be in a position to announce a slate of regular ol’ tournaments with $20-million purses if Woods hadn’t propelled the sport into the mainstream a quarter of a century ago. Any raised eyebrow about his appearance Tuesday — not to mention his involvement in reshaping the tour’s product — has to come with the acknowledgement that if Tiger put the peg in the ground Thursday in Hartford, more eyes would be on the Travelers Championship than ever before.

Still, eyes are drawn to car wrecks, too, and it’s undeniable that Woods has been something of a personal disaster at various points over the years. What we know: His fire-hydrant run-in in 2009, which led to revelations about his rampant infidelity. His first DUI in 2017, when he was found asleep at the wheel at the side of the road. His leg-shattering, 80-plus-mph crash in 2021, in which police said there were no signs of impairment. His March 27 incident in Jupiter Island, Fla., which sent him into a retreat from public view.

Maybe those are the only times Woods has dangerously operated vehicles. Maybe. We just hope his most recent is his last.

The exchange with Rolapp and the media on Tuesday is just an extension of how the sport has dealt with Woods for his entire career.

“It’s awesome to see him back, in great form,” Rolapp said. “We’re real excited about it.”

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, left, has embraced Tiger Wood before and after Woods’ recent arrest. (Andrew Redington / Getty Images)

Tiger, always treated with kid gloves. That’s by his team of handlers for decades now. I’ll never shake Mark Steinberg, his agent, asking a New York Times reporter to “please give the kid a break” in 2009, when the Times approached with information tying Woods to controversial doctor Anthony Galea, who was being investigated for providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs. Woods was 33 at the time.

Woods’ world has, thus, been filled with “yes” men forever. Add Rolapp, the tour’s CEO for just a year, to the list. It would be possible to welcome Woods back to public life and thank him for his contributions to the tour’s new format while simultaneously and respectfully acknowledging that recovery is a journey. Maybe replace “back, in great form,” with “back, looking good and hopeful.” While everyone’s path is different, less than three months is a pretty rapid timeline to be tying a bow.

He appeared Tuesday because — even though he stepped away this spring — he remains the chair of the tour’s Future Competition Committee. But would anyone have blinked if he hadn’t shown up? Furthermore, did either Woods or the tour consider whether Woods’s presence would serve not as a boost but as a distraction? Particularly if he wasn’t going to answer questions or be frank about what happened in the accident and the steps he has taken to embrace accountability since?

Professional golf almost certainly entered the period when Woods is no longer a competitive factor a few years ago. The PGA Tour is now on the brink of being past the war with LIV Golf that raised real existential questions, and is likely stronger because of it.

Does the sport still need its greatest star — unable to play professionally, dealing with very personal issues — to publicly lead it forward? It seems not. Woods could help lead and educate if he honestly spoke about his demons and any regrets that come with them. That might save others. Resurfacing only to announce how the tour’s schedule and the tour’s tiers will be handled in the future only denies the dependencies that seem to exist in more ways than one.