USGA CEO Mike Whan said Tuesday he would be “super surprised” if Tiger Woods played at Shinnecock Hills this year, and added that he does not think Woods is going to play in any 2026 USGA championship.
Whan said Woods’ situation goes far beyond golf. “Obviously what he’s going through is much bigger than golf,” he said, adding that if the 15-time major champion were somehow ready for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, “it would be wonderful for the event, and if he was ready, it would be wonderful for him.”
The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock on June 15-21, and the USGA confirmed just hours before Woods’ March 27 car accident that he had registered for the 2026 U.S. Senior Open, scheduled for July 2-5 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. But if Woods wanted to tee it up at Shinnecock, he would need a special exemption because he is not eligible.
Whan’s remarks land at a point when Woods’ competitive calendar is already clouded by events away from the course. Woods entered an inpatient treatment facility in April after he was involved in a two-vehicle car accident on March 27. He was charged with a DUI after he refused to take a urine test, though he passed a breathalyzer test and later pleaded not guilty to the charges. A separate report on the DUI and medication subpoena targeting prescription records has drawn more attention to the legal side of the case than to golf itself.
Shinnecock carries a long, uneven history for Woods. He withdrew from the 1995 U.S. Open there with a wrist injury, finished 17th in 2004 and missed the cut by two strokes in 2018. More recently, he received an exemption in 2024 for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst and missed the cut there as well.
For the USGA, the issue is not whether Woods remains one of the game’s biggest draws. It is whether he is anywhere near ready to compete again. On Whan’s reading, the answer is probably no, and the next checkpoint is whether Woods’ name remains on any start list when the summer majors arrive.