'Special night for golf': Justin Rose hails Tiger Woods' return after long layoff

Woods was playing his first competitive event in more than 600 days, having last appeared at the The Open Championship in 2024. He returned for his Jupiter Links team in the TGL championship finals against Rose's Los Angeles Golf Club, following multiple surgeries that included a lumbar disc replacement in late 2025 and recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The TGL league, co-founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy, features team-based matches involving leading PGA Tour players.

Despite the experimental format, Woods' return drew significant attention as fans looked for signs of his readiness to compete again.

Speaking after the match, Rose - whose Los Angeles side won the finals - said he had been eager to gauge Woods' condition.

"I think it was going to be a special night seeing him [Woods] back. Special night for golf. He does bring so much to it. I was just looking at it curiously to see where he's at."

Rose was particularly impressed by Woods' ball-striking.

"He looked impressive. I don't think he hit a bad shot. The only bad shot he hit was not a bad shot; it was just too good a shot almost with a wedge that went too far. But his fairway woods - everything looked great.

So from a ball-striking point of view - obviously the putting, missed a short one, that's the bit that kind of shows if you haven't been competing, so that can hopefully change for him in the not-too-distant future.

If he can obviously find some consistency in terms of competing, the short game and the putting and the touch will come back quick. He looked in a good spot."

Woods, however, was left disappointed with the result after Jupiter Links were swept in the best-of-three series, pointing to an early missed short putt as a key moment in the match. Though he took encouragement from being back competing alongside his teammates, he hasn't yet confirmed whether or not he will tee it up at the Masters next month.